Unintentional Pain
by humor.is.needed
Summary: “If we tell her she’ll probably upgrade to chasing you out with sharp kitchen knives instead.” Spencer then turned serious, “Are you sure you’re going to be okay with that?”
1. Alone

**Unintentional Pain**

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**Alone**

I must look really pathetic right now.

I've been sitting here alone in this coffee house for the past three hours. Drink after drink, and still I don't dare to leave. Those judgmental, pity-filled eyes of others no longer have an effect on me. I used to be so self conscious, but now, I couldn't care less. You might think I'm just some loser, loner college student, and maybe you're right. But being here, it brings back memories of happier times. Times I spent with her.

"_Spencer, could you walk any slower?"_

"_Hm. I don't know. Let's find out!" I said with fake innocence and instantly slowed my pace almost to a stop._

"_Okay, okay, I'm sorry, be as _slow_ as you want. I'm ditching you." She started to power walk away from me…fast. I forgot she's an athlete._

"_Ugh, fine!" I ran to catch up with her. She stood there holding my shoulders while I regained my breath. "What's the big deal anyways, it's not like the place is just going to sprout legs and run away from you!"_

"_I know Sherlock! But I'm starving, and you know I love their coffee. Besides, it's your fault for dragging me to that stupid foreign film!" She picked up her pace again._

"_Ashley! That was a quality movie. Did you not see how the characters—"_

"_Oh God! Don't you dare go off on your little speech! What's so good about a whiny boy who basically cries the whole time because he had no money! He should just suck it up!" she said being overly dramatic, waving a clenched fist in front of herself. "Anyways, enough of that waste of time, we're here! Yay!"_

"_Ash you are so much like a guy sometimes, you know that? All you can think about is food."_

"_Yet you still love me, huh?" She said smugly._

"_Yeah. For some odd reason I do."_

I miss her…a lot. She's gone most of the time these days. Whether she's playing at some concert, or over at the label discussing some new album, or at some meeting or charity event; she's always away—from me.

I'm not clingy or anything. I just…I miss my best friend. The one who I kept no secrets from, the one who even after the crappiest of days I could always go to; she always did know how to cheer me up, in some way or another.

"_Spence, what's wrong?" Ashley asked. Her voice laced with concern._

"_Ashley…I'm…dead…grades…mom…college…tutors…" At this point I couldn't even make coherent sentences._

"_Ok…calm down. Spence, you know I have a hard time even understanding plain English, so you just muttering some words really isn't helping."_

_She brought her arms around me and into a tight embrace. I buried my head into her neck and sobbed hysterically. Instantly her strong scent of vanilla filled my lungs, and my breathing began to slow down. _

"_Hey, its okay. Shh, Spence calm down. I'm here now, shh. Spencer relax, everything will be okay, I promise."_

_She held me in her arms, and I clung to her, afraid she'd leave me, but I knew she wouldn't. After what seemed like hours I was finally able to speak clearly._

"_It's my grades. Ashley, I have a B in math. My mom is going to kill me! What about college apps! I'll never get into college now!"_

"_Wow, calm down! And you call me the drama queen. Sheesh!" I could feel her chuckle against my body and then hold me tighter. "Spencer, you're stressing over nothing, it's barely been two weeks into second semester, relax. Besides," she lifted my chin so I was looking into her eyes. "You're like the smartest person I know. So it was one bad test big deal you nerd!"_

_I couldn't help the weak laugh that escaped between my sobs; she always knew how to make me laugh._

"_What's more, if anyone should be worried about grades, it should be me. With my current report card I would probably get arrested for even attempting to apply to college! They don't really value D's, C's, and the occasional B's huh?"_

_I laughed harder now. She never cared for school._

"_Well if you bothered to do your homework!"_

"_Haha! Funny! I will never do such a thing!"_

" _You're lucky your mom doesn't care!" I shoved her shoulder playfully._

"_Pfft! I could drop out of school and still that lady would not even glance my way" she said laughing. "She really is a great mother huh?"_

"_How can you have such an evil mother and still be this caring, lovable person?" I asked with fondness in my eyes._

"_Hey! That's a secret! I'm only like this with you. So please don't go blowing my street cred telling others about this okay? Please?"_

"_Okay tough girl! Now, be my knight in hidden, but still shiny armor and take me home please? I need to go face my mother now."_

I smiled at the memories. Ashley was actually really smart. She could cram for tests in less than five minutes and still get higher grades than me, who studied for tests a week before. However, she never did her homework. She said it was the teachers' way of _enslaving children._ Other than that, the fact that Ashley always skipped school really couldn't help either.

Before I moved from Ohio, I had heard that Ashley's straight-F report card and notoriously bad attendance was legendary in school. But after I met her, she somehow began to change. I would force her to do at least a few homework assignments and study for at least half an hour before going to parties. She was even less thrilled when I threatened to stop hanging out with her if she continued to skip everyday. But she did it anyways. Even Kyla was surprised; ever since meeting her sister she had been trying to get her more concerned with school, but nothing worked.

Ashley turned responsible, for me. Everyone always said I had her whipped, and we'd just tell them that was ridiculous. Deep inside, I knew I had her wrapped around my little finger; she would do anything I told her without hesitation, and I think she knew that too, but she'd never admit it.

But this all changed towards the end of high school. Ashley got a record deal, and life was not the same.

"_Spence I got it! I got the record deal!" Ashley burst into my house and began jumping up and down like a preschooler._

"_What! Ashley that's great!" I couldn't contain my genuine excitement for my best friend. This was all she had ever dreamed of: to be like her father, minus the drugs. Quickly, realization set in and I couldn't control my enthusiasm. "Oh my God! I'm best friends with a singer! ...I'm a groupie!"_

"_Hehe. I see I have found my number one fan already" she said smugly._

_I jumped into her arms and began to hug her ferociously. She twirled me around the room in her strong arms, both of us laughing like idiots the entire time._

At that point I didn't know what effect that record deal would have on my life. College started, and I was going to UCLA. Ashley didn't want me to go, even though it was only a few miles away, she didn't want me staying at some creepy dorm room with a mysterious stranger, so she bought an apartment a few blocks from campus. You heard right, she **bought** a place just so we could still be together. This girl was truly something, and she was my best friend, how lucky was I?

Then September came around, my school began, her recording began. It started out with just a few missed movie nights and slightly shorter midnight conversations, but it progressively got worse. She came home later and later and on some nights she didn't come at all. The glorious weekends where we'd spent all day pigging out in front of various movies or going out somewhere were no more. She spent those days at the studio.

We didn't see much of each other anymore, and it hurt me to think that I was losing her.


	2. My Ashley

**Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own South of Nowhere.****  
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**A/N: ****Wow, I didn't expect people to read this...Thanks! Anyway, sorry if the story seems a bit slow right now, but I promise, these first chapters that are written solely from Spencer's thoughts are important.**

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**My Ashley**

Don't call me pitiful! I do have other friends, but they just aren't Ashley. In fact, those friends of mine despise Ashley. They speak ill of her every chance they have. Saying she isn't good enough, or calling her a heartless slut, but I don't listen, she is my best friend, they're jealous. This constant questioning of why I put up with her brought about a life-changing realization.

It was around this time that I didn't see Ashley anymore that I began to notice that I had developed feelings of more than friendship for her. Don't worry, I had already come out in high school, much to my mother's dismay, but I had never really interpreted my friendship with Ashley to be anything more than…friends.

Sure, people would tell us that we definitely looked like a couple, but I would see us as merely really close friends, who kissed each other on the cheek from time to time, and who would cuddle with the other in bed when one wasn't feeling too good (I would usually be the one to hold Ashley throughout the nights when she'd come home totally wasted and on God knows what unknown substance).

Still, it never occurred to me that I was falling in love with my best friend. I know, really cliché, but it was true: I was _in love_ with Ashley Davies. The cocky smile, the over-the-top ego, the stubborn mentality, the sarcastic comments, the protective embraces, the soaked shoulders from my tears, the guy-like moments, and, most importantly, the emotional Ashley who only I got to see.

After so much time by her side, I had grown immune to the famous Ashley Davies trademarked ego. It didn't matter that my mother insulted her every single chance she got, or that my other college friends called her various derogatory terms, Ashley was never hurt, always shrugging them off and then retaliating with her very own, twice as hurtful, comments.

Then there was her protective side: her _over_protecting of me. Many a girl who had broken my heart had ended up with inexplicable bruises, cuts, and broken noses overnight. Ashley always did her best to seem totally unrelated to these events, but I always saw right through her. She had beat them up, and then told them to give ridiculous lies over why they had been hurt: _"I fell down the stairs,"_ or _"My cat went berserk,"_ or, my favorite, _"I punched myself while I was sleeping." _She was on high alert when we went out to clubs. On various occasions she had ended up with nasty black eyes or fat lips from engaging in bar fights with men, twice her size, that had dared to insult or touch me.

Of course, Ashley also had her guy moments. She managed to find some way to apply her unexplainable fixation with food, or her pubescent-teen-boy interest in sex to the most important situations, or to somehow bring these two preoccupations into daily conversation. To food: _"I need to go to the mall today." "Cool, then we can go to Applebee's."_ To sex: _"What are thinking about? You're spacing out." "Just sex."_ As simple as those sound, they happened everyday, at random times, and as always, to her delight.

And her most essential quality: Ashley was indeed a closet-romantic, and only I had ever seen this side of her. Not many people would believe me if I told them that I had seen the rebellious Davies cry in A Walk to Remember; or have had to convince her that The Notebook was only a movie and that she didn't have to leave flowers at anybody's tomb; or have had to console her for many nights after watching I Am Sam, and then having to hold her down before she burst out of the house, determined to kick some random judge's butt for not having given Sam custody of his daughter.

I realize that I too would do anything for Ashley, **my** Ashley, the one that I had fallen in love with and who I was presently losing.

Sure, my life was significantly easier with Ashley not around so much, but was it worth the lack of her presence everyday? I mean, I didn't have to cook huge, lavish breakfasts that consisted of large piles of bacon, sausages, eggs, and the childish juice boxes or cartons of milk, but then I would end up sitting at the large table eating a banana and drinking coffee _alone_. I didn't have to pick up the obscene amounts of clothes in her room anymore, but then I didn't get to go into her room as much since I didn't have to do that much laundry. I also didn't have any distractions while studying for crucial tests, but I would consequently not have any annoyingly-silly little songs to remember facts for tests or any cute scribbles throughout my notebooks.

At first I liked the silence in the apartment, but solitude is a back-stabber, and now I was left to wallow in my own emptiness and sorrow.

No other friend could fill that gap that had been so innocently left by Ashley. No one. Not even Carmen; she was the closest of my college friends. Can you even call those people my friends? I don't know, it's complicated. Anyways, not even Carmen could possibly take away the pain of losing the love of my life. She could try, I give her that, but she couldn't succeed. Carmen probably asked me to go clubbing with her every night, but my response was always the same, "No thanks." I don't consider this neglecting my relationships; Carmen is not what you can call "generous" or even "nice" at all. Out of all my college _acquaintances_ (yeah, that's a good title), she was the one who offended Ashley the most.

One night, I decided that I did, in fact, need a break from my stressful college life, so I foolishly agreed to Carmen's clubbing invitation and brought Ashley along…bad idea. After Carmen called Ashley a "slut who didn't know how to value what she had," and the latter told her to "mind her own damn business, and that she was not hurting me," Carmen launched towards Ashley with her fists in the air. Earlier I had told Ashley not to fight with Carmen, no matter what she said (I was expecting something like this to happen), and she kept her promise. While Carmen was brutally throwing punches at my best friend, she did nothing but try to pin Carmen against the wall so she'd stop hitting her.

That night I ended up having to clean the several gashes and contusions on my poor love's face. I felt awful. If it wasn't for me Ashley wouldn't have gone to the club to meet Carmen; if it wasn't for me, Ashley would've fought back, and probably sent Carmen to the hospital. However, my heroine assured me that it was not my fault, and that Carmen was just, in her own words, "a bag of poop."

Now, it is so terribly painful to see my Ashley slowly disappear from my life, but, I admit, I was the one push Ashley away all those years in high school, so do I deserve this?


	3. Karma's a bitch

**Karma's a bitch**

Popular, rebellious, athletic, and super hot, Ashley was known and desired by everyone in King High. My description, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. I was Spencer: the nerd, the geek, and the quiet Catholic girl who never went to parties.

Arriving in LA, I had expected to still be the quiet Ohio girl I was back home, until I met Kyla. She was known for being the calmer Davies, the one who kept her sister leveled most of the times; for being Ashley's little sister, no one dared to mess with her; they knew that if they did they would get the older, more violent Davies' wrath.

Kyla quickly became a close friend of mine, and through her I met the terrible duo: Aiden Dennison and Ashley Davies. The notorious best friends, devoted party-goers, and undisputed most popular people at King High. The two were inseparable, where one was, the other was not too far away, and they were probably both drunk. It was in this situation that I met Ashley: at a party. She tried to hit on me, Kyla told her I was her friend, she backed off, and then I just started talking to her.

By the middle of junior year, Kyla and Aiden unexpectedly started dating, and they naturally began to spend more and more time together, so, Ashley and I began to hang out more and more. By the start of senior year we were officially best friends; of course, Aiden was still her "male best friend" and her "drinking buddy," but I knew that I was her number one…God! I wish I was still that…

Despite our differences, we were so close. And, I guess we kind of still are, technically speaking.

However, Ashley took a back seat in my priorities list in senior year. You know, _senior year_, the last chance to fill your college apps with goodness. Yeah, I took advantage of that opportunity. I went all out; I rejoined about three different clubs and signed up for speech and debate (Don't judge me!). I even applied for officer positions to the clubs, and got them. With the weekly meetings and the different events I had to attend, my free time was nonexistent. This meant my time with Ashley disappeared.

I know. I'm a jerk. But I didn't see it at the time. I knew I had things to do, and I couldn't put them off to just hang out with my friends. Ashley asked me to go to the movies or go grab something to eat, but I always said I had something to do. She was trying to be understanding, I know that, but the fact that she asked me everyday added to the increasing amount of frustration I had built up. In one occasion I remember just blowing up and telling her to leave me alone and that I was extremely busy and had no time to **waste** with her. I could see it in her eyes. That hurt her deeply, but she merely excused herself and drove off. The worse part: I didn't feel any remorse for having hurt my best friend's feelings; I saw her as a distraction and a hassle.

Ashley had always been ambiguous with her feelings; that was one thing I couldn't change about her. She only allowed one person in: me. And now that I was absent all the time and I barely paid any attention to her when we hung out, she was closing again. I had no idea of what was going on in my best friend's mind.

I was unaware of the fact that Ashley went back to her old ways, partially. She started skipping again, and rumors in school said she had been seen with a different girl every single week at some random parties. Yeah, sad. I had to find out about friend through school rumors. At one point, I heard that she had been spotted with a needle in her arm, but I refused to believe this.

My world came crashing down when Kyla called me late one night.

_Buzz. Buzz. Buzz._

"…_hello?"_

"_Spencer! Oh my God! Spencer! You have to come here fast! It's Ashley! She's…she's…" Kyla trailed off. She started screaming and crying. To say I was alarmed was an understatement._

"_Kyla, calm down okay? I can't understand a word you're saying. Something about Ashley, what's happened?" I tried to keep my composure, yet I had a gut feeling that something terrible was going on._

_Kyla breathed hard into phone, after a few seconds she started again. "Ashley, she's in the hospital and it—"_

"_What!" I screamed._

"_Spencer, Aiden found her passed out in the bathroom of Grey's, we don't know what happened. Doctors are suspecting that she might've overdosed."_

_Now I was just hysterical. I couldn't believe it. My Ashley. My beloved best friend. It was true, she was on drugs, and it was too late for me to help her._

_An hour later Kyla, Aiden, and I were gathered in the hospital waiting room. As expected, Christine was nowhere to be found._

"_Ms. Davies' family?"_

_Kyla bolted out of Aiden's grasp. "That's me. Doctor is Ashley okay? Please tell me."_

"_Ms. Davies is in stable condition, she did overdose," he checked his clipboard. "On heroin, we believe."_

"_Can we see her?" I blurted out._

"_Yes you can, but I must warn you, it will definitely be a while until she wakes up. My guess is probably a day or so."_

_Aiden finally spoke. "Thank you Doctor."_

_Seeing Ashley hooked up to the various machines and tubes broke my heart. I wanted nothing more than to hold her in my arms until she woke up, but I knew I shouldn't._

That whole week I spent by her side in her hospital room. It was then that I saw the true vulnerability in Ashley's eyes. I had deserted her for something as stupid as clubs and college applications. But she understood that college meant a lot to me, and she kept up with it until the end of the school year.

Karma's a bitch. Now I'm having to relieve what I did, and let me tell you, it sucks. I don't know how she was able to live through this.

Should I be understanding of Ashley now? I mean, she put up with my neglect and even got hurt herself in the process, so should I do the same to her? As much as I know that I should support my friend as she makes her dreams come true, it hurts me to see how far we are from each other now.


	4. Unexpected Guest

**Disclaimer: I don't own South of Nowhere, just the characters I make up.**

**A/N: Hey guys, again, thanks for reading and for those of you who either added me or the story to your favorites or put it on alerts. I feel loved! Lol. But, it would be helpful if some of you reviewed...please? It'd be good to know if you guys even like this story or not. Well, here's the next chapter anyway. By the way, the next chapter is finally the Spashley stuff! Ok, I'm going to stop talking now.**

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**Unexpected Guest**

"Kyla I'm telling you, I'm finding it harder and harder to contain it each day. When we talk on the phone I just want to blurt it out."

"_Well Spencer, I don't see why you don't just tell her. I mean, Ashley might be really, __**really**__ stupid and all, but I would think that she already has some sort of idea of how you feel about her."_

Kyla is the only one that knows about my feelings for Ashley, well, Aiden too, but he sort of guessed, I didn't tell him. Nevertheless, both support the idea of a relationship between the two of us. I was shocked to see Aiden agreed; he actually wanted his best partying friend to get with a 'conservative' girl like me, I guess he does want what's best for her.

"No! Kyla! Listen to me! I can't tell her that. Her life is hectic already, besides, how do we know that she feels the same way about me?"

"_Wow! You're going to UCLA, aren't you _supposed_ to be smart?"_ The Davies sisters were truly alike; both were masters at sarcasm. I could almost feel Kyla roll her eyes at me through the phone. _"Isn't it obvious? Spencer, my sister is head over heels in love with you. Can't you tell? You have her completely whipped! You have __**way**__ too much power over her to just be friends."_

"But, but…I'm just unsure. Ashley could have anyone she wanted. Anyone! Why would she ever go for me!"

"_Seriously, you have really low self-esteem. Hasn't Ashley's ego rubbed off on you yet?"_

"Well it has but—"

"_Look, Spencer, just tell her how you feel when she gets back okay? I can guarantee you that she feels exactly the same way you do."_

"Thanks Ky."

"_Well I have to go. Aiden needs a new suit and there is no way I am letting that man buy it on his own!"_ She laughed. Even after all these years those two were still together, and very much in love. _"I'll talk to you later Spence. Just relax okay?"_

"Yeah, bye Kyla."

I can't believe this. How am I supposed to tell her that I am completely and devotedly in love with her? Those cheesy words just don't work when you're best friends.

Ashley has been gone on tour for over two months now. (I know. That's like a lifetime for a worm right there.) I miss her terribly. We talk on the phone every night, but those conversations always feel rushed. She is usually ultra busy and can't stay on the line for long. Either way, hearing her voice for those few minutes is enough to satisfy my Ashley Davies quota, at least for a couple hours. We used to not see each other for days when she was here in LA, now we're talking everyday. I think that's an improvement.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

Ugh! What now! Who the hell would dare to bother me right now!

I stomp my way over to the front door and aggressively yank it open. "What?!"

"Is that any way to treat an old friend?" The blonde pulls me into a tight hug before pushing past me and making her way into the apartment.

I haven't moved from my spot in a while now, and I'm starting to worry if my jaw is hanging open. I can't exactly tell, but she must've seen my shock, because she grabs my wrist to shake me out of my trance. "Spencer! Spencer! God, you're still such a spazz!"

"Annie! Oh my God! I haven't seen you in ages!" I am finally awakened and I run over to her and pull her into another tight hug. Eventually I let go to take a good look at her and quickly begin my bombarding of questions. "When did you get here? Do you still live in Ohio? Are you staying in LA for long? Do you even have a place to stay—?"

"Hey, calm down! At least give me a chance to answer some questions!" She giggles and plops down on my couch. "I got here about three hours ago. Yes, I still live in Ohio, but I don't know how long I'm staying in LA for. There was some sort of fire in my campus, so the school is temporarily closed; that's why I'm here. And, no, I haven't found a place to stay yet."

"Great!" I excitedly jump up and down. "You can stay here! My roommate is out of town for a few more days and I would love the company."

"You have a roommate?" She asks. I haven't talked to her about Ashley when we're on the phone. I don't think I want her to know that my roommate and best friend is the famous rock star; somehow I know that phone conversation would end up with Annie asking a lot of questions about her and then trying to get me to set them up so they could meet.

"Yeah, I do, but like I said, she's out of town for a while, so I'm kind of lonely here."

"I really appreciate the offer, but do you think she would mind if I crash here? I don't want to impose or anything."

"No, she won't mind. She's not some psycho, Annie! Relax, you'll like her." _I know I like her…a lot!_ Ok Spencer. Cool it! You need to control your hormones there girl!

"Aww, thanks Spence. Hey, do you think she'd mind if I use her room? I don't really like sleeping on couches you know."

"Annie, I **don't** think she'd like that very much."

"Oh. Umm, okay then. No big deal, at least tell me this is a pull-out couch?"

If you can't tell, Annie is the epitome of the word _moocher_. Maybe that's why she knows she can't stay in my room: she'd want to borrow everything. I really don't think Ashley is going to like having her here. Guess I'll just have to pout when I'm telling her so that she gives in. All I have to do is get Annie to not touch anything. Hopefully I can do that.

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Living with Annie these last couple of day really hasn't been all that bad. Like I had expected, she tried to look through and borrow Ashley's stuff on the first day, but I was able to convince her to take a shower. That distracted her long enough for me to be able to lock all of Ashley's stuff away in her closet.

Anyway, Ashley is coming back today. Kyla asked me if I wanted to come along with her and Aiden to pick her up from the airport, of course I agreed. Annie eavesdropped into my conversation and asked me who I was going to pick up and if she could come too, but I easily told her that this was a personal thing and that I'd be back later.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that I am **completely freaking out**. After 86 long days, I am finally going to be able to see her again. I wonder if I will still have the courage to finally confess my undying love for her, and even more, I wonder if she feels the same.


	5. My Insecurities?

**Disclaimer: I don't own South of Nowhere, just the characters I make up.**

**A/N: Hey readers! Wow! I'm so sorry for taking longer to post this one, but with AP tests this week, my best friend is basically forcing books down my throat so I don't, in her words, "Fail and become an idiot." Yeah, you can practically feel the love. So, anyway, I will probably not be able to update until AP tests are officially done, so next weekend...sorry.**

**Well, other than that, thanks for reading! And, thank you so much for the reviews. Keep them coming, I really appreciate them. So, I'll stop talking now. Thanks again. **

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**My Insecurities?**

"Okay! Spencer, seriously! Sit your ass down! You're starting to get on my nerves!" Kyla yanked on my wrist and then pushed me down on the seat. "She'll get here soon enough. You pacing around like a maniac really isn't helping the situation."

I had been walking around in circles, stalking the doorway to Terminal 5. I immediately wring my clammy hands nervously. _I can't take this. I need to see her… What if she's found someone! Ohmygawd! What if she comes back with a girl! No…no…no!_

"Spencer, you idiot!" Aiden snaps his fingers in front of my face. "If she had a girlfriend I'd already know about that, don't you think?"

What? Is he reading my mind now? _Who cares?! Play it cool you retard! _"I guess you're right…"

"Spencer, people are beginning to arrive."

_This is it. I'm going to see her again._

I search around the people to try and see my gorgeous brunette, but she's nowhere to be found. "Kyla. Kyla, where is she? Do you think something happened?" My heart begins to beat rapidly and my breaths have sped up.

"What? Spencer, calm down, she's probably on her—"

A cheery, raspy voice interrupts Kyla. "Guys! Over here!"

I turn to look at the source of the melodious voice and expect to see Ashley. Instead, I see a blond set of hair bouncing up and down, awkwardly running while dragging a large suitcase. "Ash…Ashley?" I curiously ask.

"Aiden! Kyla!" The girl goes and hugs the two. They quickly embrace her and begin to exchange "hello's" and "I've missed you's." After a few seconds they part and the blond approaches me. "Do you seriously not recognize me, Spence? Has it been that long?"

The girl breaks into a nose-crinkling smile, and I know, right there, that it's Ashley…with blond hair…weird. "Oh my God! Ashley! Of course I recognize you!" I run towards her and she scoops me up and hugs me.

"I guess my disguise must've worked then, if my best friend can't even recognize me!" She breaks into another smile and hugs me closer to her body.

"Why are you blond?" I look up at her and revel in her magnificent features.

"For the photographers dummy! And it's just a wig!"

"Sorry to break the moment guys, but I see some photographers already Ashley. We should go."

"Yeah, you're right Kyla, come on Spence, I have tons to tell you."

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The drive back to our apartment is filled with laughter and conversation. Ashley tells us of her tour and the many crazy fans that she acquired during it.

"…So the girl rips her shirt off and practically jumps on me! And I was like 'what the?'"

"Wait! So you had a drunk, naked girl in your arms asking you to marry her and you just left her there?" Aiden yells in shock from the driver's seat in the front. "You didn't even ask for her number…anything?!"

What a lucky, lucky girl that must have been…I wish I were her. _Calm the hormones Carlin!_ Right! She's my best friend, nothing more. _Calm down Spencer, calm down._

"No you perv! She was drunk! I wasn't going to take advantage of her like that!" She slaps him on the head…hard.

"Ow! You could've at least asked her number for me!"

Another hand flies at his head, harder. "You douche bag!"

"Ow! What is with you Davies and slapping me today?!" He rubs his head. "But, seriously. Kyla, you know you're the only one for me, I was just kidding." He looks at her with pleading, love-filled eyes, and her hard glare quickly softens.

"I know honey; you're just really retarded sometimes." Kyla gingerly strokes his arms and both lean in for a longer-than-acceptable kiss.

Okay…this situation just turned really awkward. I look towards Ashley and she has on an expression of utter disgust. "Hey lovebirds!" She yells at them. "Do you mind not sucking on each other's faces right _now_?! We don't wanna have to throw up!"

"Jealous much Ashley?" Aiden smirks at her.

"Of my sister? Dude, you **have** to be kidding me." She glares back at him and crosses her arms cutely around her chest.

"Both of you shut the hell up!" Kyla turns to me with an apologetic, knowing smile. "Sorry Spence."

* * *

We've been in the car for over an hour now. Kyla fell asleep first; then went Ashley, who is currently lying with her head on my lap and her arms hugging my waist. She has been snoring away for a while now, and I think she's drooling on my jeans. She was so tired when she arrived; I could see it in her eyes. That damned tour! My usually hyperactive Ashley looked like a zombie.

Nevertheless, even in deep sleep she looks beautiful. Her deep brown curls are cascading down the soft skin of her face, and I bring my hand to tuck them behind her ear. Immediately, I feel goose bumps form when I touch her cheek. How I wish I could just lean down and kiss it! I wonder how she would react if I did. I mean, I've kissed her cheek before, but what would happen if I go beyond that and toward her lips. Would she get mad? Would she be disgusted?

I can't help the butterflies in my stomach right now. And the fact that she is breathing softly onto the exposed skin under my shirt and around my belly button really isn't helping either. Every once in a while she'll furrow her eyebrows and grumble a bit before she squeezes my waist more and buries her face more towards me. I wonder what she's dreaming about. Whatever it is, it appears to be troubling her. I position my arms around her and rub smooth circles on her back while placing my disposed jacket over her to keep her warm. This seems to calm her down and she stops stirring.

"You have to tell her Spence."

I am startled by the sudden voice that brings me back from my happy Ashley-land. "Tell who what, Aiden?"

"How you feel; you have to tell Ashley how you feel." He looks at me from the mirror, and I have to look away.

"Aiden, you," I sigh in defeat. "You know I can't."

"Why?!" He throws his arms in the air to emphasize his question. "Why can't you just tell her? It's so simple!" Because of the red light, he turns around to face me. "You just go up to her and say: 'Hey Ashley, I think I'm in love with you.'"

"Oh yeah right!" I whisper-yell as to not wake up the sleeping Davies sisters. "It's not that simple you retard!"

"But it can be!" Frustrated, he starts the car again and sighs deeply. "Spencer, I know I've messed up in the past with Ashley. All those times I didn't keep an eye on her and she either got high or drunk, or even worse when she got into fights, but I do care for her…deeply." He stops and looks back at her with caring eyes. "She's not just my best friend; she's like a little sister to me. I care about her with all my heart. And I'm worried about her right now."

"Worried? Why would you be worried?" I inquiringly stare at him.

"Because...because I know that right now things in her life are just not…right."

"Aiden? Do you now something I should know? Has Ashley told you anything?" _What could this guy be hiding? What's going on?_

"No! No!" He quickly dismisses the question—too quickly. _I got him._ "It's not that, I…I just want what's best for her Spencer. And I know that you're the person who's best for her." _Nice save Dennison._

He fidgets and squirms around in his seat thinking. A few minutes pass by before he speaks again. "Look Spence, I want Ashley to have the best life possible. So, I want her to be with the best possible girl, and, please don't laugh at me, but I know that you'll take care of her no matter what. I don't want to see her heartbroken again, and I know you'd never do that to her. So…"

"Aiden, I…I don't know what to say." I glance down to look at Ashley. "I mean, I love her, with my whole heart, but I don't know if I'm the best person for her. Because of me she got hurt before Aiden. Because of me she ended up at the hospital and almost dead, I can't trust myself to take care of her Aiden, I just can't—"

"You might not, but I do Spencer. And Kyla does too. Who are you trying to kid? You love her, so just deal with your damn insecurities and be with her already!"

"I…I know. Okay?" I don't know why, but I'm angry now. What does Aiden know? He's already _with_ Kyla. God! He always was with her! He didn't have to go through what I'm going through.

I take a few moments to calm down. Aiden is right. I can't believe what I'm saying. Aiden Dennison is right. I'm an idiot. I can't believe it took me this whole time and even Aiden becoming smart for me to finally realize that I am meant to be with Ashley.

Ashley Davies—my Ashley Davies, who is sleeping peacefully in my lap. I need to tell her, but how?


	6. Competition

**Disclaimer: I don't own South of Nowhere, just the characters I make u****p.****  
****  
****A/N: Yo! So I'm done with most of my AP tests now. That's why I decided to post. My best friend has again become normal too...thank God. She and her test anxiety were getting on my nerves!**

**Oh! Thank you so much for the reviews! :) You guys left so many...I think I'm going to cry from the happiness. Well, keep them coming! They definitely raise my spirits and make me post sooner! (You get the hint right?)**

* * *

**Competition**

"Ashley? Ash, sweetie wake up." I gently caress the side of Ashley's face, slowly trying to wake her up.

"Mmmm. Whaddayawant?" Ashley furrows her eyebrows and endearingly twitches her nose. "Mmmm….chocolate cake…"

I giggle softly at how truly adorable she is. _Ashley Davies, the __**badass**__ rock goddess is remarkably cute._

"Ashley, come on. Wake up, we're home."

"Spence?" She flutters her eyes open and I am faced with sleepy, coffee-colored eyes.

"Hey there, did you have a nice nap?" I tuck a loose curl behind her ear.

"Sorta…are we there yet?" She brings her hands and tries, unsuccessfully, to rub the sleep from her eyes. She yawns softly and hugs me closer.

"Yep! Come on," I softly lift her head and get her to sit. "Do you want Aiden to carry you in?"

"What?" She blinks rapidly and smiles at me. "No, it's fine, I can walk thank you."

I quickly get out of the car to help a sluggish Ashley to her feet.

"Well, I guess I'll talk to you later then?" Kyla hands me the suitcase and silently asks me if I'll manage to be alone with her sister.

"Yeah, thanks Ky." I go over and hug the petite brunette, reassuring her that I'll be just fine.

"Aiden and I might be going out this weekend; do you guys wanna come with us?" The question is more directed to Ashley than it is to me. _That's right! She still has to go to that stupid studio._

"Oh! I see, you think I'm going to bail on you, huh?" Ashley shakes her head laughing and affectionately embraces her little sister. "I'd love to—that is, if Spencer goes."

"We'll go. Thanks guys." I walk over to Aiden and hug him as well. "Thanks Aiden…you know, for _everything_."

"It was my pleasure." He lets go and whispers so that Ashley can't hear. "And Spence, just…tell her, okay? Don't be afraid. She won't let you down." He flashes me a smile.

"I will…soon." I return the smile and start to head for the door.

"Aiden," Ashley goes over and bumps fists with her number one 'dude.' "I'll be seeing you later." She hugs him and whispers something in his ear. _What's with the secrecy?_

"Yeah, don't worry. I won't." Aiden gives her a half-hearted, unsure smile before turning towards his car with Kyla and driving off.

"What was that all about?" _What are they hiding from me?_

"Nothing, don't worry." Ashley beams at me. "Come on, I've been away from home for _way_ too long."

"Wait!" She abruptly stops in her tracks, and worriedly looks at me.

"What! What! What! Did I forget something?"

"No. I uh…" I guess I should tell her about our new house guest. "Uh…um…I kinda…um…"

"Spencer! What? You know you can tell me anything. What's wrong?"

"Well…I…an old friend of mine is…um…she's kinda staying in the house for a while…"

"An old…huh?" Ashley asks, completely confused. "What? Who's staying—"

She is interrupted by the sudden noise of the front door bursting open and a blonde hysterically running over and launching herself toward her; practically tackling her to the ground.

"Oh My God!" The blonde, who is clad only in some short shorts and a bra, is now straddling **my** brunette on the front lawn. "You're Ashley fucking Davies! **The** Ashley Davies! I am like completely in love with you!"

Wow! Stop right there! Did she just say that she's _in love_ with **my** Ashley Davies! _I thought she was straight!_

"Um…thanks? Uh, Spencer? Who is this?"

I take a deep breath. "Ashley, this is Annie, the friend I was talking to you about, she's staying with us for a while…" I give Ashley an apologetic glance.

"Spencer! You never told me your roommate was a famous rock star!" Annie yells. "Oh my God! You know Ashley Davies!"

Ashley just lays there, utterly perplexed. "Um, Annie right?" Annie violently nods her head. "Could you uh, get off me?"

"Oh! I'm **so** sorry; I didn't even realize I was on you!" She quickly stands up and offers Ashley a hand. "You were just _so_ comfortable…"

Again! Wow! Did she just hit on her! WTF! She's mine bitch! _Calm yourself down Spencer, don't make a scene!_

"Uh…yeah…Spence?"

"Right! Annie, Ashley just got back and she's very tired, so could you please let her into the house without you tackling her?"

Annie gives Ashley a nervous smile. "Sorry." She's blushing like a teenage idiot now.

* * *

So, what do you know? I was right. Annie has become a total creep since she met Ashley. She has been hoarding all of her time now. These past two days have been nothing but her asking Ashley a vast array of music-related, and some personal questions. I feel bad for my best friend. She looks completely uninterested, bored, and miserable as she has to sit there and get bombarded with the insufferable interrogation sessions.

"Spencer, can I talk to you?" Figures! _Now_ she wants to talk to me! Right now, while Ashley is taking a shower!

"Sure, what's up Annie?" _Gotta be nice. Gotta be nice._

"Um…promise me you won't judge me or anything?" She asks nervously.

"Of course not. What's going on?"

"Spencer," she sighs heavily and looks at me sadly. "I…I think I like girls…"

…What? What did she just say....she likes girls? She's...she's not straight..._I have a very bad feeling of __**where**__ exactly this conversation is going._

"Oh. Is that so?" I have to give her a fake smile. "Well, good for you Annie."

"Really!" She looks entirely shocked. "You mean, you're okay with this?"

I laugh lightly. "Are you forgetting I like girls too, Annie?"

She smiles to herself. "No, of course not Spencer, I just thought—"

"Well you thought wrong." _I have to ask her, I need to get this out of my head:_ "Is there someone in particular that you're crushing on right now?"

"Uh…yeah…there is." She smiles inwardly. "Please don't be mad at me…it's…"

"Who? I promise I won't be mad, don't worry." _I won't be mad at you—__**unless **__you say my best friend's name._

"I…I like Ashley."

Crap! I think my heart just stopped…is it still beating…let me check…yeah, it still is, but very weakly.

"Oh…" That's all I can say right now. _What else am I supposed to say? That I'm happy for her? I can't say that, it's not true. Besides, that would encourage her to go after Ashley. But, I can't tell her off either. I mean, she'd figure out that I'm in love with the famous singer, my supposed best friend. I can't let that happen, what do I do?_ "That's…interesting Annie. Are you sure?" _Genius Carlin! _Interesting_: completely vague and neutral! You are __**so**__ smart sometimes._

"I'm pretty sure Spencer. I feel so…so bubbly when I'm around her, you know?"

Yeah, I know. _I know very well._ "Do you?"

Shit! What do I do now? Now that I finally have the chance to be alone with Ashley; now that I finally have the renewed strength to tell her how I feel; now that I finally get to be with the love of my life. Now in comes Annie! A complete stranger…that probably has more chances with Ashley than me. Damn it! _Do I smell competition?_

This is bad. Very bad. What a tragedy.


	7. Delightful Interruptions

**Disclaimer: I don't own South of Nowhere, just the characters I make up.**

A/N: Wow! Ok, so I'm really sorry that I took like three weeks to update. Being close to end of the school year, ALL of my teachers are forcing last-minute projects, so I am extremely busy!

**Well, other than that, thanks so much for all the reviews on the last chapter! Seriously, they brighten up my moody life! So, continue reviewing; the more feedback I get, the more I will be inspired to write. Thank you always. :) **

* * *

**Delightful Interruptions**

"Mmmm…is that bacon I smell? Or am I just hallucinating?"

"Haha. Nope! I made your favorite rockstar," I say as I am setting a huge plate of bacon and sausages on the table. A tired Ashley stumbles into the kitchen complete with bed hair, and pajamas. By pajamas I mean her boy shorts and a small band t-shirt that shows off her abs. _God! She looks so sexy!_ As soon as she sees the food her eyes light up instantly and all traces of sleep disappear. _She's so cute._ "Well. What are you waiting for? Eat up!"

"Ahhh. The upside to the domesticated life: home cooking!" She flashes me a cute, nose-crinkled smile and I can't help but send her one as well. "You always were a genius in the kitchen Spence! That means no more fast food for me; after having to go so much time living by it, I gotta say, it sucks!"

"What?! Did Ashley Davies just insult junk food?" I say as I take a seat across from her on the table with my own plate of health-conscious oatmeal. _What? I'm not Ashley. Only she can eat obscene amounts of calories and still look that good! Us normal people need diets and exercise…_lots_ of exercise._

"Well, you would say the same thing if all you ate was pizza and hamburgers for more than three months!" With that, she stuffs her face with bacon and continues talking, spitting crumbs of food everywhere. "Gee Spencer; your breakfast does **not** look appealing at all! It looks like brains instead of food…ewww."

"Don't be so dramatic. It happens to be very tasty, thank you." I say, unconvincingly.

"You were always a bad liar too Spence," Ashley smiles at me again and I can't help but think she looks beautiful in the light of morning. "I've missed this, you know?"

Her statement breaks me out of my daze. "Missed what?"

"The house, the food, the feel of it all, you…" Ashley's cheeks are blushing now, and she looks down at her plate shyly while she plays with a strip of bacon.

Wait. Did she just say she missed me? Ashley missed me? _Of course she missed you dumbo! You're her best friend! Plus, she lives in the same house with you! God, you _are_ stupid!_ Shut up brain! Don't crush my fantasies.

I smile to encourage her to continue.

"All these months I've been away I've been missing you like crazy Spence. I mean, even though we didn't see each other as much before I left, at least I knew you were around, you know?" Ashley says sadly as she puts down her fork. She looks at me straight in the eyes and I feel myself melt away at the sadness and confusion that clouds her brown orbs. "I needed someone to keep me grounded. I needed someone to just be there for me…I needed you, _badly_."

She needed me? Someone to keep her grounded? _Does…does this conversation have something to do with what Aiden said, or better yet, refused to say in the car? Does it have to do with Ashley whispering in his ear? _

"Is something wrong?" I blurt out before I have a chance to process my words.

"Wha…No! No! No!" She shakes her head rapidly. She looks down at her plate again. "I just missed you, that's all…"

"And you call me a bad liar?" I reach over and take her hands in mine, forcing her to look at me. "Ashley, I know you. I probably know you better than you know yourself. Trust me when I say that you can't lie to me, I see right through you. So please, just tell me the truth."

Ashley looks away from my gaze nervously, trying unsuccessfully to try to find the answer to my question written somewhere on the wall. A few moments later, she stares deeply at me again before she decides to speak. "Spencer, I…I umm…uh…there's something I need to tell—"

"Oh my God, you guys! I just remembered that we totally have that thing with your friends and stuff!" Annie interrupts Ashley, again, excitedly jumping up and down. _Why did I have to invite her!_

"Oh, uh…I should start unpacking to look for something to wear," Ashley says nervously as she lets go of my hands. She anxiously looks at me and then hurries in the direction of her room.

"Wait, Ashley, I can help you!" Annie impulsively turns around and follows Ashley's retreating form.

_Ugh! Damn you Annie and your reproachable timing!_ What was Ashley going to say? Damn it! I was finally going to find out what was wrong with her! _Stupid Annie._

* * *

After an uneventful morning, Ashley and I are sitting on the couch, impatiently waiting for Annie to get ready so we could go out. Ashley has been stealing glances at me the whole time; she thinks I don't see her, but, of course, I have. I think she's trying to figure out if I'm going to ask her about this morning or not…I am.

"Ashley, about this morning…" I begin, wanting her to fill in the blanks.

"Spencer, I told you already, I'm fine."

"Fine about what? You just told me you missed me." I say innocently. _Ha! I got her._

"Uh…same thing! I meant I was fine during the tour, but uh…I missed you during the whole thing…" She says suspiciously. "Ugh, okay look, there's nothing going on…that's the truth, there's nothing to tell you other than that. Don't psychoanalyze me!" She says, irritated this time.

There she goes again! Closing herself up! God! _Why does she have to be so damn stubborn?! I just want to help her!_ No, I am not giving up on this!

"Ashley, I know there's something going on. I told you already, you can't lie to me. Just freaking—"

"Okay guys, I'm ready!"

_Seriously! Again! _**Stupid **_Annie! How the hell does she do that every single time! _**Damn it!**

"Well, come on slowpokes! We don't have all night!" Annie shouts from the doorway. _Does she know that she doesn't have a car?_ Suddenly, she pops her head back in. "Ash, we're going in your car, right?"

WHAT! Since when did she start calling her 'Ash'! What is this?! _She is my best friend! Get that through that thick, ugly skull of yours you…you—_

"Yeah, we are! On my way!" Ashley goes to follow Annie out the door, on the way out, she turns around and flashes me an apologetic smile. "Sorry Spence, we'll talk later, okay? I promise."

_This is why I love this girl._ "I'd like that. Now come on, let's go before Annie blows her head off yelling." I grab my purse and move towards her.

"Haha, that's one psychotic friend you got there!" She smiles as she holds the door open for me. _What a gentlewoman._

Ashley makes sure to close the door as Annie and I climb into her Aston Martin. _Yeah, the sexy beast also has a sexy ride. Hott!_ Annie makes sure to speed walk her way in front of me and into the front seat. Great…what a long night this is gonna be.


	8. Love In This Club

**Disclaimer: I don't own South of Nowhere, just the characters I make up.**

**A/N: Yo! So again, sorry this took so long...but, guess what? IT'S SUMMER! WOOT WOOT! Now that there's no more school, I only have to go to soccer practices, so updates should come faster. As always, thank you for reviewing, it makes me feel special. :)**

* * *

**Love In This Club**

Spencer's POV

"Two shots please."

"God, it still feels weird to say that and not have to show a fake I.D." Ashley says as she turns her body to face me in the booth. Aiden and Kyla are sitting next to each other, and then come me, Ashley, and finally Annie. Ashley smiles at me and says, "Do you remember those days in high school? That seems like such a long time ago now."

"Geez! Way to make me feel old Ashley!" I slap her arm playfully before grabbing a shot and downing it in one gulp. "Besides, we're barely twen—twenty-one."

"Okay…how many shots **have** you had Spence?" she says as she takes the glass from my hand and stares deeply into my eyes with her cute, furrowed eyebrows. "I swear, you're such a lightweight!"

"Only like…twooo….thrrreee mayyybee?" I throw my head back in defeat. "I don't know!"

Just as Ashley is about to respond, Annie butts in. "Hey Ash, you wanna dance?"

"Um…uh…" she looks to me with wondering eyes. _Is she asking for my permission? Why would she do that?_

As much as I would love to ruin Annie's fun, I know that I can't hinder my best friend's potential relationships…even **if **I am in love with her. I nod silently in approval and give her a short, feigned smile to encourage her to go on.

"…sure…" Ashley says to Annie as she gives me a nod and bites her lower lip slightly. She stares at me questioningly before going to join Annie who has already speed-walked her way to the middle of the dance floor.

Everybody hold on! Was that disappointment I saw in her eyes? What…what the **hell **was that?! Why would she be disappointed to go dance with Annie? She might be annoying and everything, but she's not _that_ bad-looking…sort of. Wait. She…she can't be _interested _in me? Right? Crap! Now I'm even more confused than before! _Who am I kidding? I'm freaking thrilled._

"What. The. Hell. Spencer?" Kyla deadpans once Ashley and Annie have left. "Seriously? The girl practically begs you to say no so you can dance with her and you let Annie take her?" She grabs the sides of my face and shakes my head, violently. "Are you out of your mind?!"

"Ok! Ky stop it…I'm getting dizzy…" I blink a couple times before continuing. "I couldn't tell her no could I? It's not like she wants to dance with me…" I look back at the two of them dancing. Annie is forcefully grinding into Ashley's crotch while my brunette just stands there, utterly perplexed and looking truly miserable.

"…wow. Way to feel sorry for yourself Spence." Aiden says to me as he chugs his beer.

"You know what? I've had it with this…situation thing." Kyla drunkenly stands up and points an accusing finger at me shakily. "If you're not gonna tell her," she points the same finger at herself. "I freaking will!"

Just as I'm about to say something, Kyla quickly turns around in the direction of the dancing pair. _What just happened? Why is she…OH SHIT._

"Kyla! Wait! No!" I rush after her and through the throng of sweaty people.

* * *

Ashley's POV

Why won't this girl stop dancing?! It's been like ten minutes already and she keeps on freaking grinding into me! Ugh! Grinding into my crotch…if this is her way of turning me on, then she must be insane! _What's wrong, is the mighty Ashley Davies all hot and bothered? _What?! Of course not. Frankly, I find this girl rather annoying and, not to be mean or anything, **repulsive**.

"Annie!" I have to scream over the loud music. "Annie!"

She finally looks up with a confused face. "What's wrong Ashley? Do you want another drink?"

"No, no! Aren't you tired? Let's go sit down already."

"Wha…" She shakes her head at me and brings her hands around my neck to whisper in my ear. "I'm just getting started…"

I am seriously getting tired of her stupid suggestive comments. This girl seriously has no game. I mean, does she think that I'm going to fall for those cheesy, stupid, ridiculous—

"Ashley!" I feel someone impatiently tap on my shoulder. "I have to sp—speak with you."

I turn around to see my little sister glaring at me with her hands on her hips. _Ok, why is she pissed at me now? What the hell did I do this time?_

"Why you being such a jerk, huh?!" She pushes my shoulder and gets closer to my face. "Why you dancing with her? Can't you tell that Spen—"

Kyla is cut off by Spencer, who roughly put her hand over her mouth. "Kyla! There you are! Let's go, I need to talk with you."

"Okay…what the hell is going on here?" I look at my sister and my best friend, who now seem to be either having a really hard staring contest, or trying to shoot beams out of their eyes at each other. "Guys! Can someone tell me why you two seem like you want to kill each other?"

"Uh..uh…it's nothing Ashley. Kyla was just being silly," Spencer turns toward my sister and says, through gritted teeth and clenched jaw, "right Kyla?"

"Um, yeah. That's right. Sorry Ashley." Kyla gives me an apologetic look. "We're gonna go now."

With that, the two leave, and I am left looking like a confused idiot, dancing with a drunk blond while fantasizing about another…

* * *

Spencer's POV

"Kyla, what the fuck was that?!" I say while me and Kyla are sitting at the bar, waiting for our drinks.

"I'm sorry Spence, I just…I wanted to end your dilemma already." She looks sadly at me and takes my hand in hers. "When you're in love you're supposed to be happy, and you're not happy right now. You need to be honest with yourself _and_with Ashley. You need to tell her Spence. She has the right to know how you feel about her."

I look down at the table for a couple minutes before I have nerve to respond. "Kyla, you…you don't know what this is like. Every single time I see her I just want to kiss her. But, I made I promise to her, that I would always be there for her and look out for her best interests. Knowing that I'm not good enough for her and that she could have whoever she wants, I can't tell her. I can't confess my feelings to her. I know that Ashley will turn me down, why waste my breath trying?"

By this point, I'm crying. Kyla takes her hand and lifts my chin so I am staring into her eyes. "Spencer, don't have such a low view on yourself. You're good enough. You're more than good enough for her. Sometimes I wonder if I'm doing the right thing in trying to help you get Ashley, because I know for a fact that **my sister** isn't good enough for **you**. But, I can see the love between you two. Spencer, just tell her. _Please._ At least give Ashley the chance to voice her own opinions."

"But—but what about Annie?"

"Annie?" Kyla chuckles. "What about Annie? Have you seen the way Ashley looks at her? I swear, I kept thinking she was about to barf when I saw how she was grinding into her!"

I laugh lightly. Kyla's right, Ashley did look disgusted.

"Spencer. There is no one standing in between you and Ashley but you yourself. Put all your doubts on the side and come clean to her."

I look back at our booth. Ashley and Aiden are laughing hysterically while downing profuse amounts of shots. Then Aiden has her in a head lock while she slaps him repeatedly. Annie is nowhere to be found. _She looks so happy. She is a famous rockstar and here she is, sitting with her simple friends. I fell in love with my best friend from high school. I need to tell her._

"I'm blindly in love with your sister, Ky. You're right; I'm the only barrier in this situation. I need to tell her." I look back at Kyla with a look of pure determination. "I'll tell her tonight when we get home."


	9. I Love Mistletoe

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and alerts! And, I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I kinda had writer's block. I really had a hard time writing this chapter (I rewrote it like six times!), but I do hope it's good. Please review and tell me what you think.**

* * *

**I Love Mistletoe**

"So, did you tell her?" Aiden asks as soon as his girlfriend sits next to him in the booth.

"She said she'd do it tonight." Kyla rests her head on Aiden's shoulder while downing another drink. "What about you? What happened with Ashley?"

"She's still being an idiot, as always." He shrugs his shoulders. "She's insecure as well."

"Let me take a wild guess as to why that would be. Is it because she 'doesn't think she's good enough'?" Kyla repeats Spencer's earlier words, irritated beyond relief.

"Well yeah, partially I guess." Aiden looks over at the brunette at his side. "She doesn't think she's the right choice for Spencer."

"Ugh! Those two really need to take their heads out of their asses and start thinking more positively."

"Well, we would certainly be saved all this trouble, and there would definitely be **way** less drama," Aiden chuckles.

"I honestly don't understand how the two can be best friends with all the sexual tension going on between them. I mean, that's gotta be awkward!"

"Well, don't you remember how awkward **we** used to be? I was terrified to even say hi to you!" He looks at Kyla with a smile, hugging her closer. "I probably looked like a total dork, huh?"

"You did." She says without hesitation. "But you're my dork. You're my adorable dork." She kisses his cheek lightly and returns to her drink.

Aiden smiles inwardly, happy to be with the girl of his dreams, and wishing his best friend could soon do the same.

"I really hope those two sort out their _inner_ problems soon," Kyla says. "Hell, they **already** look like a couple!"

"Easier said than done…" Aiden mumbles.

Kyla continues, "I mean, all Spencer needs to do is just get over her fear of not being good enough, then she'll be good. Ashley too, right?"

"Yeah…and I guess, also not wanting to hurt Spencer," Aiden says, cryptically.

"Is she really afraid of that?" Kyla questions, surprised at her sister's own insecurity. _What happened to overly-full-of-herself Ashley?_

"Well, yeah…she doesn't really…trust herself right now." Aiden says, hoping to end the conversation. "But anyways—"

"What? What are you—" Kyla asks cuts him off, confused, but realization soon sets in. She opens her eyes wide and quickly turns her body to stare at her boyfriend in the eyes. "Is…is Ashley…?"

"What? I don't know what you mean," Aiden says, while sweating nervously and looking in another direction.

Kyla uses her hand to turn Aiden's face to look at her deep in the eyes. "Honey…tell me."

_Shit, Aiden you are so stupid! How could you forget that this is Kyla, she knows everything!_ "Kyla, please don't ask me that…don't make me pick between being loyal to her and being with you…" he pleads.

The young brunette's face quickly worries. She furrows her eyebrows as her eyes instantly fill with tears. "Aiden..." she whispers. "She's…she's my sister. I have to know…please, I **need** to know what is going on with her…"

_Who am I kidding? I can't keep anything from her…_I'm sorry Ashley. I'm so, **so** sorry.

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Spencer's POV

"Ms. Carlin, would you honor me with a dance?"

I turned around to find Ashley extending her hand towards me while sporting a goofy smile. One that I had grown accustomed to over the years of partying with her: this was her drunken smile.

"Well, I don't know, let me think about it." I put my hand to my chin and pretended to ponder on the decision. Instantly, her grin wore off and she gave me a cute pout. _Who could say no to that?_ "Aww, don't be sad Ashy. Of course I'll dance with you."

"Come on then, let's go."

I took her hand and she slowly led me to the dance floor. As we arrived, however, the song ended and a slow dance came on_. Oh crap, this isn't gonna be awkward at all…_

"Damn it!" Ashley shouted. She scrunched her eyebrows and said, "I wanted more down and dirty songs!"

I looked at her with a sly smile. "Why? So you could have me grinding into you?"

I saw the instant traces of red on her cheeks. "What?! No! No! I don't want you to grind into me!" I pouted with fake hurt and turned to leave. "No! Spence! Not that I wouldn't like it! You're hot, come on!" I raised an eyebrow at her and smirked. "Oh my God, that sounded weird didn't it? Crap…"

_Haha! She looks so cute when she's nervous. I love her rambling…Who am I kidding, I love _everything_ about her._

"It's okay Ashley, I know what you mean." I said as I put her timid arms around my waist and brought my own around her neck. "Now relax. Let's just dance."

"Sorry." She leaned her head on my shoulder and we continued to sway slowly to the music.

Oh my God! I am dancing with Ashley…_breathe Spencer, breathe…In, out, in, out._ I am like seconds away from fainting right now. She smells _so_ nice…she even _feels_ nice. She is so great. She's like, like…like if someone found a way to extract all the greatness out of donuts, then put it in a blender and fed it to a person…and that person is Ashley!

Wait no! I'm not saying she's fat or anything…I mean, come on? She's freaking perfect. Gorgeous. Beautiful. Her body is like the embodiment of the word flawless. Seriously. Great, great body she's got there!

Man, I am **so** drunk.

"This is so family-reunion-dance-ish." She slurs her words a bit.

Her comment snapped me out of my alcoholic thoughts, and her hot breath on my ear woke up my hormones…again.

"Uh, yeah. I feel like I'm at a—a Christmas…party." _Oh smooth Carlin! Stutter, why don't you?! That will totally attract the hot babe in front of you! And, a Christmas party? Seriously? Where the hell did that come from? _Ok, time to salvage the situation."Uh, now all I need is the, umm, the mistletoe kiss and I'll be good!"

_Shit! I think I may have just indirectly made a pass at her. I just made it worse…_

"The mistletoe…kiss?" Ashley questions, hesitantly.

"Uh…Ashley, I was just kidding!" I nervously say. "_Haha_…got you…" _I am so lame._

"You mean you **don't** want a mistletoe kiss?"

"No, no! I meant that I don't **have** to get one. But like, yeah I'd want—"

Ok, so I have just been interrupted. Let's make this fun. Guess who or what interrupted me: A) Kyla and Aiden making out and bumping into us, B) Annie being an ass and trying to steal Ashley away, C) a scary-looking gopher, D) an enraged Paula Carlin, or E) Ashley giving me my 'mistletoe kiss.'

So? Any guesses?

Ok, I'm sick of waiting, I'll just tell you.

_Ashley Davies, the love of my life, the reason I wake up each morning, just kissed me._

Wow, is it hot in here? Or is it just me? Or is it those sweet, soft lips of hers on mine?

I think it's her lips. I honestly belief that her lips are basically melting my own away. And it's not like one of those 'stupid-overeager-boy' kiss, you know? Those forced kisses that just hurt the lips and feel incredibly sloppy. Yeah, it's nothing like that. Ashley's kiss is more like the 'oh-my-God-it-feels-good-to-go-to-bed-after-running-for-twenty-four-hours' kind of kiss. Like, it's so…soft. Yeah. It's soft. Not forced, not sloppy. But I can still feel the full effect of it. I think I may have just died and gone to Ashley-Heaven.

Ashley pulls away after, let me tell you, a **while**, and her brown orbs lock into my blue ones. Her lips grow into a small smile and her eyes bright up. Then, without a hint of alcohol in her words she says:

"Merry Christmas Spence."


	10. The Crazy Blonde

**A/N: Hello again! Well, this chapter was a challenge to say the least...I don't really know how to feel about it, but I did make it a bit longer. I probably won't be able to update for a couple of days. Anyway, thanks for the reviews! :) Keep leaving some more. Enjoy!**

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**The Crazy Blonde**

Do you know those situations where time seems to have somehow slowed down? Or maybe even stopped? You're still moving just fine, but you can see that all around you, people are moving in slow motion. You see how their lips move as they are about to say something, and how they make their way around in this momentary limbo. What's surprising is that in these situations you don't stop and ask yourself, "What the hell?", instead, you're left staring out into drawn-out actions and really taking the time to observe. Has that ever happened to you?

Because it is happening to me right now. Except, my situation is a bit different. The world around me is a blur, literally. I see movement, but the motion leaves strokes of smeared colors in my surroundings. Only one thing in my sight is perfectly visible. At this point I am realizing that my hearing is also gone. The music that had previously been blasting into my ears has been reduced to nothing. And my sense of space has been dulled, therefore I dare not move, in fear of falling and ending this fantasy.

So here I am, standing in the middle of a sea of coated colors looking at her slow-rising chest and perfectly-round brown eyes. I cannot divert my gaze from her. I want to say something, but my lips feel heavy and my lungs are frozen over. That leaves my mouth opening and closing uselessly, failing miserably at attempting to form coherent sentences. My heart is beating erratically in my chest, and I know for a fact that I am trembling a little. I can't help it; at this point I have no idea what to do.

My dream has just come true, but reality hasn't set in yet, so I can feel my mind working in overdrive to try and sort out these new emotions. My breathing has hastened, and my hands are sweaty. However, her smile is beginning to wear off, and her eyebrows are furrowing, she's confused. I have to say something now. I take a deep breath and swallow the lump in my throat.

"Ash…Ashley…"

Her expression lights up. I guess she wasn't exactly expecting me to speak.

"I-I…I, uh, don't know—"

"No, no Spence. Let me." She takes my hands in hers and looks at me directly. "I haven't exactly been honest with you these past few days…"

Our staring breaks and she looks around nervously. She needs help.

"Ash…Ashley, look at me." I use my hand to turn her head towards me and smile. "You know you can tell me anything. So? What is it?"

"Umm, uh, I…I want to…but, as much as I know you'll hear me out, I don't know if I can bring myself to say it. Because, in order to tell you what I'm feeling, I kinda have to tell you what I've been **doing** with myself exactly, and I, uh I mean, I don't think you'd actually be…umm, _pleased _with what I have to say."

"What? Ashley what is it?" I furrow my eyebrows before moving to hug her tightly.

She melts in my arms and I can feel her start to calm down a bit. Ok brain, you better be working right now. I can't wait until we get home. She's about to confess to me, so I might as well confess to her too.

"I could never get mad at you if that's what you mean," I lean in closer to whisper in her ear. "Because I lov—"

"What is this?! Spencer! What the f-fuck are you doin'?!"

Ashley and I sprung apart abruptly, fearing for our lives at the sounds of the shrieking screams coming from the drunk, wobbly blonde.

"Annie? God. You are so drunk," I say carefully as I approached her to provide her with some much-needed support.

"Hey! Get the fuck off!" She rudely slaps my hands away and raises a trembling, but still intimidating finger to point at me. "Wha-what arrree ya' doin'?! Huh?! You kissin' her now?!"

"What are you talking about? We weren't—"

"Wasshuuurrr problem?"

What am I supposed to say at this point? I can't tell her we were _kissing_. Because, I don't know if we actually were. I don't know…that may have just been a friendly kinda kiss for Ashley, so I can't confirm it. But, at the same time I can't say we weren't because…well, our lips _were_ touching and all…Stupid Annie. I swear, if we weren't in a room full of people, I would strangle you right now for your obvious affinity to interrupt my Ashley moments.

"Annie. You're drunk; you don't know what you're talking about," Ashley finally steps into the picture. She moves towards the blonde and grabs her elbow. "Come on, I'll help you to the booth—"

"No! No! No!" Annie gets out of Ashley's grip and throws her beer bottle to the floor, shattering it angrily. By now we have a crowd of curious people around us. _This is so embarrassing._ "Spencer! How could you?!"

"An-Annie…I…" I stutter out. I'm shocked, okay? Don't blame me.

"Okay. That's enough!" Ashley starts to take a more forceful approach towards Annie and manages to turn her in the direction of the booth. "It's time for you to go."

I follow the two before Annie shakes Ashley off and stalks her way over to me.

"Sh-she is mi-mine Spencerr! I told you! Don't go tryna steal her now!" She emphasizes her words by using her hand to push my shoulder roughly each time.

Okay…now I'm mad. Not only has she dared to touch me, she had the nerve to call Ashley hers? Seriously, this chick _must_ be delusional. I mean…What the fuck! That's it, I'm done being polite!

"Okay! Stop right now!" I push her off of me and she stumbles into a few people in the crowd, who help her back to her feet. "Ashley is _not_ yours. And what we may or may not have been doing is none of your business, understand?"

"Of course it's my busi-ness you crrrazy bi-bitch!" She walks towards me again and stands face to face with me, her four-inch heels bringing her to my height.

Oh. She did not just call me a bitch, right? Did she? Okay, now she's dead.

"Listen you little bimbo, if you don't get out of my face and away from Ashley in the next five minutes, trust me, I _will_ hit you," I say through clenched jaw and flaring nostrils. I don't want to make a scene in front of Ashley, so I speak as calmly as I can to hide my anger, but I fail, because I can practically hear the hatred oozing out of my words.

Suddenly, Annie lunges towards me and tackles me to the floor.

"You b-bitch!" She screams as she starts pulling at my clothes.

Huh…I guess alcohol does make you stupid. Does she really think pulling my clothes is gonna hurt me? Wow, she _is_ dumb.

Before I have the chance to flip her over and retaliate her attacks, I feel her being powerfully lifted off of me by none other than Ashley.

"Annie stop it! Enough!" Ashley yells at her and pins her arms behind her back. Annie just continues to thrash about uselessly, struggling against the strong grip of the brunette.

"Wh-what makes you think you can k-kiss her, huh?!" She manages to scream out at me as she continues to flail her legs pointlessly in the air in front of her.

Okay, I'm seeing red…Yeah…I am…Oh man…I feel my inhibitions going away right now…Shit…I'm gonna start blurting stuff out…Damn it!

"Because I can, you doofus!" I step closer to her and smirk evilly. "Because I love her!"

That successfully quiets the whole scene. The crowd gives out a simultaneous gasp and looks expectantly at the other blonde's response. Annie stops flapping around like a dumbass and just stands there, her jaw hanging open, and her eyes wide with either anger, shock, or both. She opens and closes her mouth like a fish, but no words come out.

I stare away from her and the crowd, I don't care about them. I care about the brunette, whose grip has loosened and is just standing there, with an unreadable expression on her face. Her eyes are slightly wide, but her lips are closed, not tightly or anything, but I can tell that she is swallowing hard. Then she starts blinking rather rapidly, as if my words just hit her. I can tell she is struggling to find the right words to say, but she is coming up short.

Here on my end, thought isn't coming easily either. I cannot believe what I have just said. I know I said I was going to tell her tonight and all, but I certainly did not expect to do it in club. Especially not during a jealousy fight with another girl. I may have just destroyed my chances with my one true love. _Shit!_

"…Spencer…" Ashley finally speaks. "Spence…I…I…don't—"

I cut her off by shaking my head. I really don't want to hear her rejection. I don't want to hear her say that she doesn't love me back, or that she loves me, but only in a friendly way. I don't want to hear her say that we can't be. So I do the most logical thing I could think of in this situation: _I run._

I run out of the club and out of Ashley's gaze. I run to hide from my own fears and my self-prophesied uncertainties.

Little did I know, I was running out on myself.


	11. Buddy Pep Talk

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the wait, but depression hurts, so I was trying to deal with it as best as I could. Hopefully this uncharacteristically-long chapter makes up for all that time. Review and tell me what you think. Enjoy! :)**

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**Buddy Pep Talk**

Aiden's POV

"Kyla…I…" I stuttered. It broke me to know that to be a loyal boyfriend I had to be a horrible best friend, but I knew this was necessary, it had to be done. "Please, Ashley's right there…I'll feel even worse if I tell you when she's around…"

Kyla looked down at our intertwined hands. After a few seconds of silence she finally lifted her gaze towards me. "Okay…when we get home," she said in tears.

"I promise." I leaned forward to try and kiss her, but was interrupted by the screams and hollering coming from a gathering crowd.

"You b-bitch!" I hear what sounds like Annie's shrilly voice and then the crowd gets even louder, some whistling and others yelling "Fight!"

Instantly, I turn my head to look at Kyla, whose worried, horror-stricken expression must be a mirror image of my own. "Aiden!"

"Yeah, come on!" I take her hand and begin leading her towards the enthusiastic crowd.

"Oh. My. God," Kyla's eyes widen and she covers her mouth with her hands in utter shock.

"Huh? What? What are you looking at?" I look around quickly, desperately trying to find what's so shocking. Kyla grabbed my shoulder to get my attention and points to the middle of the dance floor.

"Woah...two chicks fighting…wow…" I blink repeatedly to make sure I'm not dreaming. _This is like one of my fantasies…except one of the chicks was Kyla…damn._ "This is so hot!"

_Smack!_

"Ow!" I rub the back of my head. "Kyla! What the hell was that for?"

"Look again, you idiot!" She points to the two fighting females again.

I turn to the scene once again. "What are you—"

My eyes can't believe what they are seeing. There, in the middle of the gathered crowd is Spencer…on her back…with Annie straddling her…trying to rip her clothes off…What the **hell** am I seeing?

_I thought she liked Ashley…_

"Holy shit!" I push some people out of the way to make room for Kyla and me to approach the girls. For a few seconds we just stand there, completely perplexed with the situation. "Kyla…" I poke her arm and she turns to look at me. "I thought Spencer was after Ashley—"

_SMACK!_

"OW!" I rub the side of my head frantically. "How can you possibly hit that hard?! I'm like twice your size!" She glares at me. _Ooh…pissed-off Kyla…that's scary…_I quickly take a step back. "I-I mean, why did you slap me?"

"Ugh! Because you dumbass!" She uses her hands to roughly yank my face to look at the scene again. "That _slut_ is hitting her!"

Sure enough, now Spencer is trying to flip them over. Out of the corner of my eye I finally see Ashley, an unimpressed look on her face, as she goes and roughly wrench Annie away from the other blond and lock her arms behind her back, rendering her useless.

"Annie stop it! Enough!"

She continues to struggle against Ashley, but I know she won't budge. _I told her working out with me would come in handy._ "Wh-what makes you think you can k-kiss her, huh?!"

Spencer stands up and brushes herself off. "Because I can, you doofus!" She looks over at Annie with an unreadable expression on her face. Then she smirks, and says, "Because I love her!"

"Woah." "Wow."

Kyla and I stare at each other again, both of our pairs of eyes wide and glazed over.

"That was…" I stammer.

"I can't believe…" She hesitates.

We both look towards the girls again. They all mimic our earlier expressions. Annie has slumped over in Ashley's arms. Ashley seems to have been petrified in her spot and she gawks at Spencer, clearly surprised by her revelation. Spencer just stands there. She looks from Annie to Ashley and locks eyes with her.

_Wow…I seriously didn't expect this…I feel bad for Spencer…this was probably not the best way to confess an undying love to another person…And Ashley…she's probably gonna have a heart attack right now…_

"…Spencer…" I hear Ashley say softly, almost whispering. "Spence…I…I…don't—"

Expecting a response from Spencer, I turn my head to look in her direction and am shocked to only see her back as she makes her way past the crowd and toward the exit. _Why is she running?_

"Aiden!" Kyla snaps her fingers in front of my face. "I'm gonna go after her. Please make sure Ashley doesn't do anything stupid, okay?" I nod my head absent-mindedly. "We'll talk when we get home."

With that, my girlfriend leaves my side and jogs her way over to catch up with the blonde._ Crap, I forgot about our little 'conversation' earlier! Ashley's gonna hate me after this one…_

"Ashley!" I yell out her name, having remembered Kyla's instructions. I approach the two women. Ashley looks like she's about to cry. Her eyes are still wide but are now watery. Her bottom lip is trembling as she continues to support the drunken idiot in her arms. "Ash…" I don't really know what to say right now, so I do the next best thing, I hug her from the side, careful not to crush the other girl. "Come on…let's go sit down."

She nods vaguely and starts walking in the direction of our seats, dragging the inebriated package along with her.

"Ashleeey! Y-you don't like herr do ya'?" The blonde turns in Ashley's arms, complete with an unattractive pout and smeared mascara. "I'm much betterr than herr, righttt?"

Ashley's face immediately hardens at the comments and her expression turns to one of sheer disgust and irritation. "Will you shut the hell up?! Do you not realize what has just happened?!" She violently shoves the other girl into the booth and raises an intimidating finger to point at her. "I do **not** like you! And I **never** will! How can you even begin to think you are better than her?! You're not even in her league, you asshole! Now sit your ass down, and please, shut the fuck up!"

Annie could not possibly sink any lower into the leather seat. The brunette's outburst must have scared the shit out of her, because she settles for nodding her head fearfully and then turning to slump down in her position and grab a few drinks I left there earlier.

"Aiden…let's go sit elsewhere, I can't talk here." She eyes the girl evilly before going off toward the bar. As we grab our seats she orders a couple more drinks. We spent a few minutes of silence just drinking, before I have the nerve to talk to her.

"So…umm…are you, uh, okay?" I stumble out. She glares at me and I quickly backtrack. "Sorry! Sorry, stupid question…"

"It's okay…" She puts her glass down and shifts to stare at me. "…I wasn't expecting that…she totally took me by surprise…I-I blew it…I shoulda said something—"

"No, no you didn't." I grab her wrist and squeeze it gently, reassuring her. "Ash, she freaked out…it wasn't your fault." I sigh deeply before getting closer to stare at her deeply. "Don't blame yourself for something you're not responsible for. In a situation like that, anyone would've reacted the same way."

Ashley looked down at the floor in deep thought. "I-I really want to be with her, Aiden…But just when things are seemingly going right, something like this happens…I can't stand it."

"Hey," I use my other hand to lift her chin, and I instantly see the tears that have made their way down her cheeks. "This is an opportunity don't you see. She just confessed to loving you, something you had been wondering for a long time, now just go and tell her you feel the same way."

She scoffs, and then a sad, fake smile plastered her face. "If it were only that easy…" She trailed off.

Ok…why isn't that easy? What the hell is she talking about? Is it—...oh. I get it now.

She must've seen my obvious confusion, because she rolls her eyes and continues. "Aiden, how can I trust myself with her? I'm—I'm a freaking addict!" She clenches her jaw and throws her arms in the air. Angry tears stream down her face as she sets her elbows on the bar surface and rubs her temples furiously. "…I'll end up hurting her…I don't want that…"

For the second time tonight, I really don't know what to say, so again, I pull her into a tight embrace and rub her back. "Ashley, it's not like you're _doing_ right now…" _Wait, is she?_ "…Right?"

"Of course not!" She pushes me away and stares at me angrily. "It's been two months, don't you remember?! I told you!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, sorry I asked…" I give her a contrite look and her anger quickly dissipates. "Anyway, this just proves my point."

"You had a point?"

"Naturally!" She laughs softly and I continue. "You've been clean all this time on your own effort, being with Spencer will give you that extra push you need to quit for good."

Ashley raises her head from her hands and gives me an expression of confusion, and maybe even hope. "You think so?"

"Yes I do," I rub her arm encouragingly. "All you need to do is go out there and tell her that—"

My cell phone interrupts me, alerting that I have a new message. I quickly spot my girlfriend's name as the sender. _Kyla? What could she want?_

**Text:** **I dropped Spence off at her house. Hope you and Ashley are ok. See you at home. Love you.**

_Aww…I love you too Ky…I love you so—_Wait!

"Perfect!"

"What's perfect?"

"Spencer is back at your house," I raise my eyebrows and nod, silently telling her my idea.

"Aiden…I don't think I can…" She frowns.

"Yes you can!" I stand up and offer her my hand. "Come on! That girl just spilled her heart out to you, it's your turn to do the same."

She turns back at me and smiles. "You know, if you weren't dating my sister I'd say you were gay."

"Oh yeah, make fun of the guy that just helped you through that nervous breakdown, God!" I look away feeling hurt until I feel her hug me.

"Thanks Aid," she mumbles into my chest.

"Hey, no problem," I kiss the top of her head. "You're not alone Ashley."

She pulls away and continues to smile at me, sniffling and wiping off her previous tears. "What…what do I do with Annie?"

"Huh?" _Who's…_ "Oh! That's right! Maybe you should just ditch her here."

"Aiden!" She gasps at me. "As much as I would **love** to, I don't think I would feel right leaving that drunken whore alone here; she might get kidnapped or something." She shrugs her shoulders. "Besides, she **is**…or **was**, Spencer's friend. She's not gonna want me to abandon her at some random club."

"Eh…true," I mumble. We make our way over to the booth where we left Annie, only to find her passed out, sprawled on the seat with various beer bottles around the table. "Damn, she can drink…do you need some help loading her into your car."

"Yeah...I don't think I wanna touch that…thing." Ashley says, disgusted at the sight in front of her.

"I'll carry her," I scoop the blond in my arms. "Lead the way."

When we got outside, we quickly made our way toward Ashley's mother of a car. "Are you sure you want to put this in your back seat?"

"It's not like I have another choice…" She sighs. "I just hope she doesn't drool on the leather."

I place, or better yet, thrown Annie in the seat and close the door. "Well, time to say goodbye now..." I trail off.

"Aww, Aiden. I have a lot of free time the next couple weeks, we'll hang out again." She smiles and punches my arm lightly. "I need to catch up with my best bud!" She says in a thick accent.

"I know…" I laugh lightly. "Ok! Enough with this! Now **you**," I point at her. "Get in that car and go get your girl."

"Thanks, _dude_." She hugs me one more time before getting into her car. She leans from her seat to the window. "You're a good friend Aid," she says fondly. "I'll call you to tell you how it went later."

With that, she drives off, leaving me in a puddle of guilt and remorse.

_Bye Ashley…You're not gonna want to talk to me after I tell Kyla…I'm sorry…_

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Ashley's POV

After saying bye to Aiden I sped off into the highway, anxious to get home. I wanted, no, **needed** to talk to Spencer right away.

You see, although I tried to hide as best as I could, I had harbored feelings for her since way back in high school. Yeah, that's a long-ass time to crush in secret. But, I valued our friendship. I didn't want to ruin it by confessing to her and then having her reject me; that would make us…_awkward_, later on. I didn't want that, seriously. My friendship with Spencer was probably the most important relationship I had. No, it was the most the important, without a doubt. She had been there for me through all the hardest points in my life; she had helped me cope with my tumultuous life.

After my father died, I became a wreck. It didn't affect Kyla as much, she didn't now him. Dad had just dropped her off one day while he was on a tour in L.A. What a great dad he was…NOT. As much as she tried to help me, I just wasn't responding anymore, I turned back to my old ways of closing myself off from the world. Aiden too, did his best to break through to me, but it wasn't working. Spencer was the only one that could get me to speak. Despite the fact that I pushed her away at first, she persisted. Pretty soon, I broke down, letting my own tears flow uncontrollably, and she was there all the time, holding me while I cried and cheering me up. I would've died without her…

Now here I am, on my way to finally confess my feelings to her. Although she already _kinda_ told me that she liked me, I can't help but have some doubts of my own. _How do I know that she didn't just say that to get Annie off her back? How do I know she meant it? How do I know she didn't just say it out of desperation? _I don't know these things, so I'm feeling more nervous than ever.

I just hope that she did mean she loved me. I just hope that she spoke those words out of her heart, and not her brain. I just hope that when I tell her I feel the same, that I won't be four years too late in confessing to her.

I sigh loudly; the house has just come into view. As I park in the driveway I shut off the engine and take a few minutes to breathe in deeply, in a lame attempt at controlling my erratic heartbeat.

"…I can do this…" Deep breath in. "…I can do this…" Deep breath out. "…Ok, I'm good."

I open my door and slowly climb out, heading toward the back seat door to take out the wrong blonde out of my car. _I want the other one._


	12. The Way It Should Be

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry about the cliffhanger last chapter. I just thought it was a good place to end it. I probably won't be able to update until Wednesday; sorry about that. Thanks for the reviews. I LOVE THEM. Please tell me what you think about this chapter: Finally some Spashley! ;)**

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**The Way It Should Be**

Spencer's POV

I am so stupid. Why did I run out on her like that…Why? Scratch that. Why did I tell her I loved her in the first place? Ugh! I think I may have just screwed my chances even more of being with Ashley. That stupid idiotic slut! It's her fault this happened! If she hadn't been all over Ashley, I would have been able to control my stupid hormones…Damn you hormones. Damn you.

I don't even know if she'll come back home today. After what I just hit her with, I wouldn't. Well, I would, but only if I was sure that I agreed with myself about how I felt about…myself…? I'm confused.

But maybe, just maybe, Kyla's right. Before leaving she told me that if Ashley felt the same way she would gladly tell me. She said that was one of her sister's most undermined qualities, her ability to just go after what she wanted and do her best to get it; to speak her mind. I really hope she does the same in this situation. I really hope Ashley comes back today. I really hope Ashley tells me that she loves me too. That would be splendid.

Still…How would I react? Would I spaz out like I did back when I told her I loved her? Would I know what to say? Most importantly, would I run out again? I can't run out of my own house…right? I pray that I my reaction will be appropriate; I don't want her to think I didn't mean what I said. Because, obviously I do mean it. I just wish—

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

Ugh! Who the hell wants something at…2 freakin' am?! Damn, it's late!

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

"OK! I heard you!" I angrily stop my way over to the door and yank it open. "What do you—"

I come face to face with a head of brown hair. A beautiful brunette carrying a distasteful blonde bundle.

"A-Ashley?"

"H-Hey Spence…" She lifts her head and I see a weak smile playing at her lips. I instantly take note of her swollen and reddened eyes. _Has she been crying?_

"Umm, is that Annie?" I point to the woman in her arms.

"Uh," she swallows hard. "I couldn't just leave her there, you know?" She shifts her weight to her other foot to keep from dropping her.

"Oh! Sorry," I say quickly, moving from the door to allow her in. "She must be heavy. Come in."

"Thanks." Ashley nods faintly and slowly walks in. I close the door after her. "She's out cold, so I'll, uh, just put her up in my room." She must have sensed the slight jealousy and hurt that causes in me, so she quickly adds, "I'll sleep on the couch."

"Okay…" I trail off. The brunette makes her way down the hallway and out of sight.

_Was that it? Is she…not gonna talk about it? Don't I at least deserve a conversation?_

"I think we should talk." She says from the doorway upon returning.

"Yeah, w-we should." I take a deep breath and sit on the couch, getting ready for the possible rejection.

A weird sense of silence overcomes the room. Something that never happens between the two of us. Our moments of silence are never awkward, they're mostly comfortable. But I know that this situation is different, because after this night, however it may end, Ashley and I will no longer be friends. We'll either be something more, or nothing at all.

"Umm, what you said to me before," she walks over to the couch across from me and grasps the back, supporting her weight. "Did you mean it?" I can tell that her eyes in clouded in uncertainty and doubt. _I guess she must be nervous too…_

"I-I," _God, Carlin! Stop stuttering! You already said the most important thing! Now acknowledge it and end this poor girl's suffering!_ "…Yes. Every single word."

"…Okay…" She looks down to her hands and takes a deep breath. _No, no, no! I did that when I was unsure! Oh great, she doesn't feel the same._ "Spencer, I—"

_I smell rejection…_

"No," I stand up and rub the tears off my face. I walk over to her and put my hand on hers. "It's okay. You don't have to feel the same way. I understand." Nodding slowly, I turn around to leave.

Here comes the defense mechanism again. When in doubt or hurt, Spencer Carlin runs away. And that's what this situation is calling for. I can't stand to hear her say that she doesn't love me back. I don't want to hear those words coming out of her mouth. That would destroy me even more than I already am. I wouldn't survive her rejection. So I have to run away. I have to be a quitter once again. I head towards the front door; I can't stay here with her.

"Wait!" She grabs my wrist to stop me. "I…that's not what I was going to say."

_Wha-What? Does she mean that…?_

"What…?" I look deep into her eyes. My teary ones can clearly see that hers are displaying something different than I had expected. Instead of anger and dismissal, I see compassion, joy…love. "Ash…"

Ashley intertwines our hands. "Spence, I didn't come here to tell you I didn't feel the same way." She looks at me with a soft smile on her face and shining brown orbs.

"Wh-Wha…" _Don't blame me for being speechless. In this situation, you'd be too. Trust me._

"I came for a whole different reason," She whispers. "Spencer, I'm completely," her lips break into an even bigger smile. "Utterly," she separates our hands and gently brings her arms around my waist. "Entirely," she pulls me closer, so that we our faces are mere inches away. "Head-over-heels," she locks eyes with me and whispers, "In love with you."

I can't even think right now…Those are the words I've wanted to hear from her all this time. Those are the words that I was afraid would never be directed at me. Those are the words that are currently making my heart soar with happiness and are leaving me speechless. _I guess I did spaz out…_

"…R-Really?" I whisper airily, my lips slowly beginning to smile.

"Really," Ashley sighs out, leaning in to break the space between us and connect our lips.

The moment they touch, I'm in pure bliss. The love of my life is kissing me, and I do the most natural and logical thing to do: I kiss her back, bringing my hands to clasp around her neck, pulling her closer to me. The kiss is soft, just like it was back at the club, but I can feel stronger, deeper emotions behind it. It has much more significance; much more impact; much more _love_. It's not forced, harsh, or sloppy…it's just, right. Her lips delicately massage my own, hastening my heartbeat and making this moment even more memorable.

After what seems like hours we pull away, both breathing rapidly to catch our breaths. Both smiling tenderly at each other, never breaking eye contact.

"I thought you came tonight to tell me off," I say shyly.

"Wha?!" She scoffs. "Spence, why in the world would I do that?" She smiles brightly. "I've loved you since the day I laid eyes on you back in high school. Do you know how hard it was to keep it hidden all this time?"

"You-You loved me back then?" I ask, confused and flattered at the same time. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I was scared," she admits, putting her head down. "I knew you had a lot to deal with back then. W-With college and everything. Plus, the me back then would have dragged you down…I wasn't ready for a relationship…"

"Are you ready now?" I use my fingers to slowly lift up her chin, revealing some tears on her perfect cheeks.

"…I think so…" She nods. "Are you?"

"If it's with you," I smile and use my thumb to brush off the tears. "Then yeah, I'll always be ready."

"..Th-Then…" She takes a deep breath. "Will, you, uh, be my…girlfriend?" She says, unsurely.

"Aww, you're so cute," I say fondly, while her cheeks quickly surge with blood and she blushes profusely. "Of course Ashy bear; I'd love to be your girlfriend." I lean in for another soft kiss, reassuring her of my answer.

When we separate, I see her goofy grin, knowing that I'm probably sporting an identical one myself.

"I'm so glad I actually listened to Aiden today," she smiles. "I was so nervous about coming and talking to you…"

"Well I'm glad you did," I say giving her a peck on her lips. "I'll have to thank Kyla for convincing me not to run away."

She laughs huskily and hugs me closer. "We'll have to thank them later," she says through a yawn.

"Yes we will," I say, pulling away from her and taking her hand. "Come on, let's go to bed."

"Yeah…" She yawns again. "I'll just get a pillow and a blanket from upstairs—"

"You're still sleeping on the couch?" I'm confused.

"Well, yeah, you know, Annie's hogging up my bed. I don't want to sleep near that thing."

"Oh, I see," I say, disappointed. "Okay…I'll see you then…"

Ashley quickly recognizes my sudden mood change and doesn't let go of my hand to keep me from leaving. "What's wrong Spence?"

"Nothing…" Ashley gives me a disbelieving look. _She knows me so well._ "It's just…I thought you'd want to share my bed…"

"I-I do," she stutters while looking at me timidly. "I was just afraid to ask…" She ducks her head.

I smile at her ability to be adorable without effort. "Oh, Ash," I pull on her hand, meaning to lead her toward my room. "You're _so_ cute."

When we arrive at my door, Ashley hurriedly jogs off to her own room to take a 5-minute shower and change into some pajamas.

I enter and go to my closet, quickly changing into some boxers and a tank top; then I crawl into bed. A couple minutes later, Ashley peaks her head in through the door, smiling widely when she sees me. Closing the door behind her, she makes her way to other side of my bed, clad in some similar boxers and a small band t-shirt. She gets into bed and I instantly snuggle into her side, so she brings her arms around me.

"This feels right," I whisper.

"Yeah it does," she whispers back, kissing my forehead.

I wish that I could keep talking to her all night, but pretty soon, sleep overcomes me. "Goodnight Ashley, I love you."

"'Night Spencer, I love you too."

We both drift off to sleep. With Ashley holding me all night, I'm sure tonight will be the most peaceful sleep I've got in a while.


	13. Eventful Morning

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! A couple of you had previously commented on Ashley's "addiction." I'm sorry that this was the big secret; I know that's so overused and all, but trust me, the drama that is going to come with it might not be directly caused by it…*wink, wink***

**Oh, by the way, I've been working on a new story for the last couple of weeks, and I already have a couple chapters written and most of it planned out, so after this story is over (which will be in a long while) I'll start posting that one. Unless, you want me to post them simultaneously…but that would just confuse my short-attention span…**

**Anyway, sorry about this really long author's note. On with the story, and please leave your reviews! :]**

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**Eventful Morning**

Spencer's POV

The annoying sounds of my alarm clock disturb my peaceful sleep. I instantly turn it off to not wake up the sleeping brunette next to me, whose arms are still tightly draped across my waist and whose breath is tickling the back of my neck.

8:30 am. It's still so early.

I slowly turn to my other side and come face to face with a beautiful tan face and messy, bedhead-styled curls cascading down the perfect cheeks. Quickly, realization sets in, and the previous night's events rapidly replay back in my mind. What could've ended as a tragedy stemming from my freak-out back in the club had led to the fulfillment of my greatest dream: to get the girl.

_She's so beautiful. I can't believe how lucky I am. I love Ashley, and she loves me back. She's my girlfriend…She's finally mine…_

I lay there on bed, tucking a loose curl behind her ear and grinning like an idiot while I watch her sleep. The slow rise and fall of her chest with her breathing and the light, occasional snore just makes my grin grow wider and my heart to beat even faster. After a good fifteen minutes of watching her sleep, I begin to feel the slow grumble of my stomach, and am quickly reminded of why I woke up in the first place: class begins at 10:30. _Greeat…_

Being extremely careful to not wake her, I gradually untangle myself from her grasp and immediately hear a groan come from her as she searches for my now absent body. I take her hands in mine and give her a light kiss on the lips to calm her down, which seems to work, because she snuggles closer to the pillow and continues sleeping. _For being such a famous, badass rockstar, she is so adorable._

After a quick shower, I change into some jeans and a white, fitting, long-sleeved shirt before making my way downstairs to prepare breakfast. However, as I enter the kitchen, I notice Annie sitting at the island, sipping a cup of coffee, already dressed and with a suitcase by her side.

"Hey," I whisper.

Apparently my voice startles her, because she jumps slightly before turning around in her seat to face me with a weak smile. "Hi Spence," she says. "Didn't expect to see you this early in the morning."

"I have class," I say as I open the fridge to take out my oatmeal and some pancake mix for Ashley.

"Right, I forgot." She takes another sip of her coffee and takes a deep breath. "I just…I wanted to apologize for last night," she pauses. "That should have never happened, and I'm really sorry it did."

"It's okay An," I look up from beating the mix to stare her in the eyes. "Actually, it's not okay, but," I give her a weak smile back. "I understand…Ashley's important to me, I'm sorry about the way I acted as well."

Annie nods absent-mindedly before getting up and going over to put her cup in the dishwasher. She then goes to stand next to her suitcase. "I know you guys are together now," she swallows hard. "And as much as I had wanted that to be me by her side," she gives me a sad smile. "I'm happy for you. I know you two will be good for each other, and I'm glad to see you finally found the perfect person for you."

_Is this the same Annie from last night? The one that went berserk on me and hit me? What happened to the annoying, interrupting, loud blonde that I had wanted to kill? Is this really her?_

"Th-thanks Annie," I stutter out, utterly perplexed with her new personality. _Is she bipolar?_ "I, uh, hope you find someone too…"

"Yeah," her smile grows into a genuine one now, one that doesn't quite reach her eyes, however. "I know you didn't really expect to see me here this morning apologizing to you."

_Woah! Can she read minds now?_

I nervously draw out a quick response, not really knowing what to say. "I didn't really—"

"No, no," she interrupts. "I didn't even expect for me to do this," she passes her hand through her hair uneasily. "But the situation just kinda called for it, so…" she trails off.

I nod and just stand there, understanding how much more awkward this must be for her.

"Umm, anyway," she blinks to get her out of her trance. "I also wanted to thank you for taking me in this last week," she swallows hard once again. "But, uh, it seems that I have overstayed my welcome, so I'm guessing it's time for me to leave."

Annie grabs the handle of her suitcase and begins heading for the door. I follow her, still in shock over what has just happened. _I can't believe this is Annie? Wow, she can actually be nice?_

"Uh, Annie you don't have to…" _What can I say? The polite side in me is still present, even after all that has occurred during her short stay here._ "I mean you don't…"

"I know you're just trying to be nice, Spencer," she says as she begins to open the door. "But I'm sure." Annie turns around to face me. "Please tell Ashley I'm sorry too, okay?" I nod. "Okay, then, uh, bye Spencer, hopefully this didn't completely ruin our friendship or whatnot…" she says, obviously nervous beyond belief.

"No, I," I take a deep breath and smile as well. "We're good." She nods slowly and makes her way outside. I instantly take note of the taxi waiting for her outside. _I guess she was serious…_

After the blonde puts her suitcase in the back and begins to get into the car, I can't help but feel a little sad. _She used to be one of my closest Ohio friends; this is what it had to come down to? _"Bye Annie," I say as I wave to her from the doorway. I see her wave back before the taxi drives away.

I close the door and lean back into it, releasing a breath I didn't know I had been holding in. As I try to collect my thoughts quickly and begin to shuffle back into the kitchen I hear someone clear their throat behind me. I jump slightly before glancing back and seeing Ashley standing there, smiling at me.

"Ashley," I smile back and go to hug her, seeking support after my encounter.

"Well good morning to you to," she chuckles slightly, while kissing the top of my forehead. "I missed you in bed."

"Sorry, I had to start getting ready for class…"

"Eww, class…" she scrunches her eyebrows in disgust. "Anyway, was that Annie that just left?"

"Yeah," I manage to say while pulling away and going back to preparing breakfast. "She said she was sorry about everything, but that she felt the need to leave after what happened."

"Oh," Ashley eyes me suspiciously while sitting on one of the stools at the island. "She didn't, you know, hit you or anything, did she?"

"What?" I say confused, before remembering the old Annie. "No, no. She was actually really calm and stuff. It was like I was talking to a whole 'nother person."

"Good then," Ashley shrugs. She continues to sit there, smiling the whole time, before a loud, growl-like sound breaks the silence. Instantly, her cheeks fill with red and her eyes widen. "…Oops…"

I laugh loudly and turn to stare at her. "Was that your stomach?" I say through my laughs.

"Stop laughing," she says, still blushing. "You jerk! I'm hungry, I can't help it!"

"Aww, baby," I coo as I grab her plate of pancakes and put them behind my back, going over to peck her nose. "Here, go eat," I say as I hand her the plate. Her eyes light up and she hurriedly takes the offered food and goes to sit at the table. I chuckle lightly and head into the kitchen once again to grab my own bowl of oatmeal.

"Thunks Spuncher," Ashley says through a mouthful of pancakes, smiling at me as I take a seat at the table as well. "Oatmeal, again?!" She swallows. "Why do you eat that stuff?!"

"It's healthy for you," I take a bite of my food, frowning slightly at its lack of taste. "Besides, I don't have time to exercise, so it's either this or you start getting used to having a chubby girlfriend."

Ashley gives me a nose-crinkling smile at my use of **the** word. She looks at me straight in the. "I don't care if you're chubby or even morbidly obese, you'll still be my girlfriend."

"And you'll be mine as well," I say, beaming at her.

After a couple more minutes of just smiling at each other goofily, we return to our breakfasts.

"So, what time do your classes end today?" Ashley asks after having chowed down on all four pancakes before I even finished half of my bowl.

"Being Monday and all," I look at her and frown. "They end at 5…"

She gasps rather loudly before throwing her shoulders back in defeat. "I don't get to see you for," she looks at the clock and then sticks out her tongue, signaling that she is deep in thought. "Like a bajillion hours!" _Haha, she gave up on trying to figure it out!_

"A bajillion? Really Ash?" I snicker while shaking my head. "It's almost 10 already. So more like you won't see me for about seven hours, you drama queen."

She scoffs loudly and folds her arms over her chest while turning her head away from me, pouting. "Fine then, I won't miss you either!"

I chuckle while going over to sit on her lap, wrapping my arms around her neck. "Of course I'll miss you, baby." I place my forehead on hers. "All day."

"Really?" Her eyes light up as she embraces my waist. "All day?"

"Every single minute," I whisper.

Both of us lean in simultaneously and our lips meet in a much more passionate kiss. After synchronizing the movements of our mouths, I feel her tongue slowly probe at my lips, asking for access. I instantly grant it and pretty soon we are entranced in a heavy make-out session, with my hands in her hair pushing her head toward me to deepen the kiss, and her hands at my waist, massaging my lower back through my shirt. After what seems like an eternity, we both pull apart, breathing rapidly to catch our breaths.

"Wow," she sighs.

"Yeah," I swallow to try and steady my voice. "Wow."

We grin at each other goofily before my eye catches the time on the clock. 10:13.

"Crap!" I bolt up from Ashley's lap and hastily begin searching for my bag and my car keys.

"What is it?" Ashley asks as she stands and begins gathering our plates.

"Class! I'm gonna be late for class!" I spot my school bag on the couch and sigh, relieved to find my keys inside. "I gotta go!"

"Ok-kay…" she chuckles as I fumble around with the doorknob.

"Why won't this thing open?!" I yell, frustrated with my inability to open a door…I'm so lame.

Ashley shakes her head and reaches for the knob herself. "Let me." On her first try she successfully opens it. "There," she smirks at me.

"Thanks," I blush profusely as I lean in to give her a quick kiss. "Bye Ash!"

"Bye Spence!" I hear her say before going into my car and speeding off.


	14. Belated Intervention

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter! Enjoy.**

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**Belated Intervention**

The brunette was sprawled haphazardly on her couch, her legs flung over the top of the couch and her head swinging right off the edge, causing her to stare at her TV upside down. It didn't matter, however. She knew this episode by heart. She knew every single line and every single action that each character would make. That's what happens when you watch too much SpongeBob…

She had been lying around for a while now, trying unsuccessfully to kill some time. It was barely four, meaning one more grueling hour without her blonde girlfriend. After not having seen her for three long months and this last week having to deal with the drama that was Annie, she was missing the blue-eyed beauty more than ever. Especially now that they were together, she longed to see her, talk to her, listen to her, or at least just be able to stare at her.

"God," she sighed to herself. "It's hardly been six hours since she left…What are you doing to me Spencer Carlin?"

After Spencer had left this morning, Ashley had gone to take a shower and then made her way into her own room. Expecting to find it in a mess, she was surprised to see the bed neatly made and not one thing out of place. Despite this, Ashley removed the sheets, bundling them up and throwing them in the corner of the room, intent on burning them later on. She then remembered her conversation with Aiden last night, and attempted to keep her promise and call him. She tried many times but her best friend didn't answer. _Must be busy…_Shrugging, Ashley then plopped down on the couch, where she now currently laid.

"Is mayonnaise an instrument?" Ashley imitated the pink starfish as she chuckled. She loved that chubby star. _How could anyone possibly hate him? He's so ado—_

"ASHLEY FLIPPIN' DAVIES!!!" A loud shriek interrupted her thoughts.

_**KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.**_

"OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!" The voice said as it continued to pound on the door.

"Coming! Coming!" Ashley flipped off the couch and straightened her clothes as she made her way over to the door. Upon turning the door knob, a short brunette came stumbling in. "Kyla?"

The other girl didn't answer, instead she regained her balance and lifted her head to glare at her older sister straight in the eyes, she was obviously furious. Ashley waited for her to say something; however, Kyla brought her hand behind her head threateningly before flinging it forward.

_**SMACK!!!**_

Ashley staggered back, her hand instantly cupping her left cheek. She groaned and clenched her jaw to keep herself from howling in pain. A few more seconds passed before she used the wall to steady her astonished form, looking at her little sister with wide eyes, surprised that she had just dared to slap her. "Ky…w-what the fu—"

"Shut up," the shorter brunette took a menacing step forward, closing the door behind her and continuing to stare daggers at the shocked woman. "Do **not **even _dare _to speak to me right now."

Ashley just furrowed her eyebrows in bewilderment as she opened her mouth to respond, however, no words came out. She caught sight of her sister's tense frame, clenched fists, gritting teeth, and cold, frightening eyes. Ashley had never seen Kyla this way, she was beyond angry. This was so unlike her usually docile younger sister. Even when she did get mad, she was never this livid, never this fuming.

Ashley was petrified. Unaware of what had gotten Kyla so displeased, she didn't know what to do. She was fearful of what other girl was capable of at this point. Sure, Ashley was significantly taller, and definitely stronger than her sister, but at this point, seeing her in her current state of anger, she was terrified of what Kyla might do to her if she even tried to approach her. Utterly confused, Ashley decided to just remain in her place, timidly staring at the girl and waiting for her response.

"I-I can't believe you would do that," Kyla whispered as she looked down at the floor. "How could you? _Again_ Ashley?" Kyla brought her gaze back up from the floor, regaining eye contact. Her eyes, although still filled with anger, now held something more in them: tears, and the presence of pain and hurt.

"What are you…?" Ashley trailed off. Kyla's demeanor baffled her. Sure, she may have messed up doing God knows what, but did she really deserve to be brutally slapped? "What did I do this time?"

"What did—What did you do?!" Kyla growled at her while stomping toward the living room. "Do you even have to ask?!"

"Well…yeah…I do…" Ashley cautiously neared the shorter brunette, leaving a good, five-foot distance between them. "I don't know what you're blabbering about."

"You freaking lied to me!" Kyla advanced on the girl, getting right in front of her face. "That's what!" She then shoved her sister fiercely by the shoulders, making her stumble back into the wall.

"What?!" Ashley exclaimed, once again using the wall to support her weight. "What the hell would I lie to you about?"

"Ugh!" Kyla, defeated, plopped down on the couch. Using her hands to cradle her face, she began to sob. "You said you stopped Ashley…you freaking lied to me…" she whispered.

"Wha…" Ashley sighed and scrunched her face in confusion. _What the heck is she talking about? I stopped what?_

Seeing her younger sister in such obvious pain, Ashley carefully sat down next to her. "Ky, talk to me." Ashley brought her arms around her sister, rubbing her back soothingly to try and calm her trembling structure. "What's wrong?"

"No!" Kyla unsuccessfully tried to pull away from the other brunette, but Ashley held on tight, wanting to control her sister's outbursts. "This is your fault…" she sobbed as she finally gave up trying to push her sister away.

"What's my fault?" Ashley whispered. "What are you talking about?"

Kyla didn't respond. She just continued to cry into her sister's shirt, soaking it.

"Is-Is this about last night?" Ashley dared to ask. "Is this about what happened with Annie?"

Kyla merely shook her head no as a new wave of tears hitting her. She knew that it was unfair to hit her sister and torture her without even giving her a reason, but she couldn't help it. She was afraid to even bring the subject up, knowing that it would reopen some old, but still very fresh wounds in both of the brunettes.

"Ky, please talk to me? I wanna make this right," Ashley kissed the top of her sister's head and rubbed her back soothingly. "But I can't unless you tell me what I did wron—"

Then it hit her.

Ashley froze. Her eyes widened, but not in surprise as they had done a few minutes ago, in fear this time. Chills ran up and down her spine and her breathing faltered. Her lips trembled in alarm as she attempted to swallow the huge knot in her throat.

_Does Kyla know? Wait…how could she have found out? I've been really careful…I've kept the cravings in check…I haven't talked about it at all when I'm with her. I didn't tell her about it…I only told Aiden, and he would never—"_Aiden!"

_Shit, did I say that out loud?_

Kyla nodded her head against her sister's chest. That was all the confirmation the older brunette needed. Aiden had spilled. "Fucking Aiden! I'm gonna kill—"

"He's not the problem!" Kyla yanked herself away from Ashley and stood up in front of her. "**You** are!"

Ashley mirrored her sister's movements and stood, looking deeply into Kyla's eyes trying to read her mood. "Well, when that asshole was **betraying** me," she shook her head in disgust at the thought of her now _former_ best friend. "Did he mention that I had…I don't know, maybe _stopped_?!"

"It doesn't matter!"Kyla shrieked as she began to pace around the room. She suddenly stopped and pointed an intimidating finger at Ashley, "After last time you said you would never use them again! You lied to me!"

"No, no, no!" Ashley attempted in vain to grab a hold of Kyla's shoulders, who kept brushing them off angrily. "It was a mistake! One that I am trying to fix right now!"

That finally managed to shatter the walls of anger and fury that the young brunette had put up. She broke down, literally, as her body swayed toward the ground, only to be caught by the other girl. "Ashley," she sobbed into her chest once again, using her hands to hold on to hold on to the stronger girl, afraid she'd lose her. "Do you know how much it hurt me when Aiden told me?"

"I'm so sorry Ky," Ashley hugged her tighter. "I never meant for this to hurt you; as soon as I realized what I was doing wrong I got help…I'm _getting_ help. I don't want to let you down again…"

"I love you Ashley. You're my sister…I don't want to lose you like we lost dad…It would kill me…"

"Shh. I'm not going to overdose like him, Kyla, you're not gonna lose me. You're all the family I have left, of course I want to make this right."

Kyla just nodded her head and continued to let the tears fall in silence. She was terrified. Losing Ashley was out of the question for her. Even with all her flaws, she was her big sister no matter what. She loved the older brunette, and would cry at the thought of anything happening to her.

Ashley, on the other hand, was feeling like shit. She had thought that the day she told Kyla about her problems some of the guilt from lying to her would have dissipated, but she was sadly mistaken. The amount of guilt had grown exponentially. Seeing all that pain in her sister's eyes had broken her, and she swore to herself that she would never allow that to happen ever again.

"Ky," she whispered after about fifteen minutes of silence. They were still very much hugging in the middle of the living room, trying desperately to get over the shocking news. "Are you okay now?"

Kyla sniffed loudly and mumbled, "Yeah."

"Well, do you know what happened last night?" Ashley said joyfully, aiming to cheer up her little sister. "You know, with me and Spence?"

Kyla instantly pulled away from the embrace slightly to look at the taller brunette in the eyes. "Oh my God, I totally forgot about that! So did you guys talk…?"

Ashley's face lightened up at the sight of the other girl's beaming face and wide smile. "Oh, we did more than talk…" she said smugly.

"Eww…" Kyla slapped her shoulder playfully. "Sicko…"

"Wow!" Ashley gasped in fake shock. "Get your head out of the gutter! I meant we kissed…Duh!"

"…Right…" Kyla smirked at her.

"No really," the other brunette said, seriously this time. "We kissed and I then asked her to be my girlfriend—"

"What did she say?! What did she say?!"

"Geez, I was getting there," Ashley rolled her eyes. "Anyway, she said yes…"

"Holy crap!" Kyla yelled, rather loudly, jumping up and down in her sister's arms. "See! I told you to ask her a long-ass time ago, but _no_, you never listen to me!"

"Well I'm glad I did now," Ashley said with a faraway look in her eyes. Just thinking about her blonde girlfriend made her instantly happy.

"Oh, that's right! You have to tell Aiden. He was dying to know this morning!"

Ashley's head whipped back to look at Kyla with an incredulous look on her face. "Are you serious? There's no way I'm talking to that freaking traitor ever again!"

"Come on Ash," Kyla pleaded. "I forced it out of him. I played the girlfriend card, he had no choice. It was about time I found out anyway! I can't believe you kept this from me for so long!"

"I already said I was sorry. But that's beside the point," she furrowed her eyebrows in anger. "Best friends don't sell their friends out like that! As far as I know, that dude is _so_ dead to me." Ashley separated herself from Kyla and headed toward the kitchen.

"What?!" Kyla exclaimed in disbelief, shocked to hear that this little argument would be the end to the Terrible Duo's lifelong friendship. "Ashley! It wasn't his fault; I already told you I blackmailed him."

"Doesn't matter," Ashley said from the fridge as she scrambled to find something to eat.

"Yes it does!" The shorter brunette made her way into the kitchen as well. "Put it like this, if Spencer used the girlfriend card on you, wouldn't you do _**anything**_ she said instantly?"

"What?!" Ashley snapped her head out of the fridge to look her sister in the eyes. "What are you implying?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kyla took the two Hot Pockets out of her sister's hands and popped them in the microwave. "You're whipped, just like Aiden."

"Woah, little girl," Ashley slammed the fridge door while carrying two bottles of beer. "Ashley Davies is not whipped."

"Uh, yeah you are," Kyla said matter-of-factly, snatching a bottle for herself. "You always have been, even in high school. You lady, are Spencer's bitch."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

The two quarreling sisters continued their childish bickering for a good five minutes, failing to hear the front door open and a certain blonde entering the house. Chuckling to herself when she saw her girlfriend's face red with anger as she struggled to prove the other brunette wrong.

_I come home to see my rock star girlfriend arguing with her little sister…and apparently losing. What a wonderful life I have…_


	15. The Call Of Doom

**The Call Of Doom**

"Wow, she's pretty." Ashley mumbled, eyes transfixed to the TV.

"Hey!" A swift elbowing to the ribs awoke the brunette from her daze

"I-I mean…eww…" She quickly corrected. "Wait, Spencer it's not even—"

"Doesn't matter," the blonde snuggled closer to her girlfriend.

It was a lazy Friday afternoon. The week had come and gone, and as a result of all the tedious schoolwork and long study sessions, both had opted to not go out, but instead just spend the day in, watching a movie. Now they were cuddled on the couch, Spencer's back nestled in Ashley's front, with the brunette's arms draped around her waist, and her head nuzzled in the blonde's neck, watching Happy Feet.

"I am _way_ more attractive than a singing penguin," Spencer commented. "_Right?_" She tilted her head to look at the older girl from the corner of her eyes, searching for some sort of hesitation.

"Of course," Ashley smiled and pecked the girl's cheek. "She's got nothing on you."

"You're so amazing," Spencer whispered while blushing. Both stared at each other longingly, with goofy smiles plastered on their faces, knowing that no words needed to be spoken in order to convey their mutual feelings of adoration.

After what seemed like an eternity, Ashley leaned in to capture Spencer's lip in what was at first intended to be a soft, sweet kiss, which quickly escalated the not-so-innocent scale as the blonde reached back and tangled her fingers in Ashley's curls, pushing her head toward her to deepen the kiss. The brunette's hands then began to roam, up her girlfriend's legs, before finally finding the brim of her shirt and slipping under, settling her hands on the smooth skin of Spencer's flat stomach.

The younger girl, slightly frustrated with Ashley's unhurried movements, then opened her mouth slightly, inviting Ashley's tongue, which instantly obliged. The brunette moved her leg across Spencer, who was now on her back, into a straddling position, placing her hands on either side of Spencer's waist to support her weight and continue the kissing. In turn, the blonde disentangled her fingers from the brown curls and moved her hands to grasp the rock star tightly around her back, pushing her head upward and exposing her neck. Ashley took this opportunity eagerly kissing the creamy, new skin feverishly, making it harder for the other girl to breathe.

Suddenly, Ashley felt a vibration on her leg. Then it happened again.

"Wow Spence," she whispered, while looking up into blue eyes with a smug grin. "Are you _that_ excited to have me on top of you?"

"That…cell…phone…" Spencer managed to breathe out while blushing profusely. "Should…get it…"

"Nah," Ashley returned to her previous position in the blonde's neck. "Let it ring…"

Spencer relented, sighing slightly when Ashley doubled her efforts. She gave into the moment and lost herself in the brunette's touch, who had began to roam up and down her body again. Until she felt the familiar vibration.

"Ugh…" she mumbled. "…Mom!"

Ashley's head whipped up; eyes wide, filled with both shock and fear. She began to look around the living room recklessly, worried she might come face to face with Paula Carlin at any moment. "Where?" She spoke through her labored breathing, frantically continuing to look around. "I don't see her!" She yelled, alarmed.

Spencer, noticing the terrified expression on her girlfriend's face, quickly realized the misunderstanding. She cupped Ashley's cheeks with both hands to halt her movements and whispered softly. "She's not here, Ash," she chuckled in amusement. "I meant she's the one calling me."

"Oh," Ashley's face remained void of emotion, until it hit her. "Oh!" She then furrowed her eyebrows. "Way to kill the mood Spence!"

"Sorry," the girl said through a smile. "Just that my mom has taken a liking to calling me Friday nights," she raised her hands used air quotes, "To _see what I'm up to_."

"That's…creepy."

"I know," Spencer sat up and pecked her on the lips. "I should get it though," she began to reach for her back pocket. "Or else she'll never stop calling."

"Right," Ashley begrudgingly stood up off of the blonde and went to shut off the long-forgotten movie.

"Hey mom," Spencer said, cheerily. "At home…no plans…watching a movie with Ash…no, mother…we're not drinking!" She yelled "...Already done…I don't think—…_fine_!...Saturday?...but _mom_…Okay! Okay!...Geez, I'm sorry…Yes, I do love you…Alright…bye."

Turning around, Ashley found her girlfriend fiddling with her fingers, nervously looking at her. "What?" She questioned.

"Have I told you how much I love you today?" The blonde timidly continued to play with her hands.

"Oh no," Ashley's eyes widened, she knew what was coming. "What'd you do?"

"Umm…uh…"

"What did you agree to do _now_?" Ashley probed, standing petrified.

"Umm…my mom asked me to go home this Saturday for dinner…"

"So that means no Spencer-time for me?" She pouted and Spencer shook her head. "Hmm…well, good luck with that!" Ashley bolted up and away from the couch in the direction of the bedroom, already knowing what the other girl was going to ask from her.

"Ashley!" The blonde stood up and headed to follow her retreating form. "Come on! It won't be _that_ bad!"

"Spencer! Listen to what you're saying," she stopped in the doorway and turned to look at her. "Last time I went over for a Carlin family dinner your mom chased me out with a baseball bat!"

"Y-Yes, but uh…" Spencer struggled to come up with an upside to the situation. "Umm, at least it wasn't my dad's golf club like that other time," Ashley raised her eyebrow and scoffed. "Ok, fine! The woman is insane! But please go?" The younger woman gave the brunette her best puppy eyes and pouted, already starting to crumble her tough resolve not to go. "I don't want to be there all alone…please? For me?"

"I can't believe you…" She used her hands to shield her eyes, but Spencer only moved closer and under her hand so she could still see her. "It's not fair to use the_ look_ Spencer…." The girl continued to pout at her until the singer threw her hands in the air and walked towards the bed. "Ugh! Fine! You win!"

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Spencer said as she coated her face with kisses.

"Sure, but if your mom answers the door with a blunt object in her hand, I'm outta there."

"And I'll be right behind you, don't worry."

Both women moved to lie on the bed. Ashley on her back and Spencer on her side with her head on the other girl's outstretched arm. The brunette then hugged her girlfriend close, kissing her forehead sweetly while tucking a strand of blonde her behind her ear.

"Ash?"

"Yeah babe?"

"Are we going to tell my mom?"

"Tell her what?"

"About us?" Spencer mumbled.

Ashley instantly panicked. She moved away to stare at the unsure blue eyes. "I-I don't know…" She trailed off. "Do you want to?"

"Well, I'm not sure…" Spencer peered straight into the striking brown eyes, trying to read what the brunette was thinking. "Are we ready?"

"Do you mean are we ready for the wrath of Paula Carlin?" Ashley said, trying to lighten the mood a little.

This earned a smile from the blonde. "If we tell her she'll probably upgrade to chasing you out with sharp kitchen knives instead." Spencer then turned serious, "Are you sure you're going to be okay with that?"

"Oh man," Ashley gasped.

Spencer instantly took this as a sign of the brunette's hesitation and began to backtrack. "Baby, it's okay if you're not. I mean, we don't have to do it right now. We just started dating and everything, we can tell her some other—"

Ashley cut off the blonde's rambling with a soft kiss. She then smiled at looked at Spencer, an unreadable expression on her face.

"What? What is it?" Spencer questioned, unsure of what Ashley wanted to do.

"I'm gonna have to start wearing lots of layers of protective clothing then." The brunette said through her smile.

"R-Really?" Spencer asked, a similar grin tugging at her lips. "You really mean that?"

"Of course!" Ashley lifted Spencer's chin. "I want everyone to know that we're together now, and if that means telling your mom, then we might as well do it now, don't you think?"

"I love you so much," Spencer said as she closed the distance to give her girlfriend a searing, passionate kiss, trying to express her gratitude.

"I love you too," Ashley said when they pulled apart. "And I want everyone to know that you're taken."

"I'm taken?" Spencer asked in fake curiosity. "By who?"

"Oh, you're mine Carlin!" The brunette moved to straddle the younger girl. "For the rest of your life."

"I think I can live with that…" Spencer said with a seductive look on her face. "It seems like I have no other options."

"That's because you have no choice," Ashley said while leaning in, closing the space between their bodies. "You're stuck with me."

"Well lucky me." Spencer wrapped her legs around Ashley's waist and kissed her deeply, knowing that whatever happened with her mom, she'd still have her girlfriend to look forward to. _Especially_ in moments like the one they were about to have.


	16. Bipolar Much?

**A/N: OMG! (I can't believe I just said that) I am so sorry for the huge wait! School started, problems came back, but now I'm back to normal. Hopefully this Supah-long chapter will make up for the wait. Thanks for the reviews! Enjoy. :)**

**

* * *

**

Bipolar Much?

"Spencer, _please_! We still have time!"

"It won't be that bad—"

"Are you kidding me? She'll disintegrate me with her eyes!"

"Ashley, stop being such a drama queen. It's just my mother. I'll be there with you the whole time, relax."

"But—"

"No," Spencer reached over her seat to hold her terrified girlfriend's hand. "You'll be fine. _We'll_ be fine. Let's just go in there and get it over with." She began to rub her hand soothingly. "Besides, my dad's there. Don't worry, okay?"

"Ugh," the brunette sighed before turning to look at the other girl. "You owe me…**big** time," she pouted.

"I know." Spencer smirked suggestively. "And I will _surely _make it up to you…"

"Yes you will…" Ashley winked.

"…By baking you a cake," she finished.

Ashley scoffed. "Way to ruin the moment…_again_."

"I'm sorry baby," Spencer pecked the brunette's nose and smiled warmly. "You know I'm kidding."

The girl looked confused. "About the cake or the…" she trailed off.

"_Oh_, you know…" Spencer threw her a less-than-innocent look and moved to lock her seatbelt. "Now let's get this over with."

* * *

"Ashley, you look fine. Stop fretting."

"No…this stupid…shirt…it's all wrinkly—"

Spencer grabbed both of Ashley's hands to stop her movements. "It's _fine_," she said firmly.

"But—"

The blonde sent her a pointed look. "Right."

"Look, just relax. My dad told me earlier on the phone that mom has started taking some yoga classes or something."

"You think classes are gonna calm that lady down?" The brunette shook her head disbelievingly. "No chance."

"Well—At least she'll be more…I don't know, mellow?"

"Mellow?" Ashley raised her eyebrows. "No I don't think—"

"Spencer! Ashley!" The door flew open and an overenthusiastic Paula Carlin walked out and enveloped the two young women in a rather painful hug. "I'm so glad you're here."

"Umm…hi mom…" Spencer said, completely thrown off by her mother's actions.

"Let me take a look at you two," Paula pulled away to stare at them. "Spencer did you cut your hair?"

"Well last weekend I went to—"

"It looks _fabulous_!" She yelled in a high-pitched voice. "And Ashley, look at _you_!"

"Uh, hi Mrs. Car—"

"You surely do look more like a rockstar than last time I saw you! I swear, that last concert in Chicago," she took in a large breath. "FANTASTIC!"

"Thanks…I think…" Ashley chanced a glance at the younger blond, who mirrored her confusion.

"Now why are you just standing there? Come in, come in!" Paula moved out of the way and practically pulled the two women inside, all while sporting a wide smile.

"I really am happy to see you two," the older blonde yelled over her shoulder as she made her way into the dining area. "It's been a while!"

"Yeah, it has…" Spencer felt an arm pull her back.

"What the hell is wrong with her?" Ashley whispered into her ear. "What happened to evil Paula?"

"I honestly have no idea…" Spencer scrunched her eyebrows as she saw her mom's retreating form, wearing an 'I heart Ashley Davies' concert t-shirt. "She's like a completely different person…"

"Hmm," Ashley smirked. "You think your dad was finally able to get that stick out her a—"

"Girls!"

"Dad!" Spencer walked over and threw herself in her father's arms.

"Hey Spence!" Arthur kissed the top of her daughter's head before turning to look in the brunette's direction. "Ashley, so glad to see you! How are you doing?"

"I'm good Mr. C," she flashed him a genuine smile. "Nice to see you too."

"Well, dinner's ready, I think your mom is already setting up the table."

"Yeah, about mom…" Spencer said as she pulled away from her father. "What's wrong with her?"

"What do you mean, honey?"

"Like, you know…Why is she so…nice all of a sudden?"

Arthur smiled in amusement. "Oh, you mean why she is so happy?" Both girls nodded their heads. "Well, when we went to sign her up for the yoga classes, her instructor told her he sensed she was under a lot of stress. So, she was put in a more rigorous program, and well, these are the results." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Wow, maybe I should sign Christine up…" Ashley mused.

He just smiled at her response. "I have to agree, it is a nice change. Just last week she saw a flyer for the Pride events happening next month, and I had to restrain her from calling you at three in the morning to ask you to go with her."

"That…is so not mom…" Spencer whispered in shock.

"It is now."

* * *

"…And I saw this shirt and absolutely fell in love with it!" Paula finished.

"It looks great on you mom."

"Yeah, it does Mrs. Carlin."

"Thanks, sweetheart," Paula's wide smile had still not disappeared. "And Ashley, please no more 'Mrs. Carlin,' call me Paula." The girl nodded dumbly. "I saw you on a gossip magazine a while ago," she smirked. "So, are you dating that red-head or what?"

Ashley brushed profusely. Seeing her girlfriend's distress, Spencer stepped in. "No, she's **not** mom," she had to keep herself from screaming in jealousy.

"Are you sure?" The older blonde continued. "This isn't the first time I've seen you two pictured together."

"She's just my publicist…I'm not with her." Ashley whispered the last part, thinking of who she really _was_ with.

"Well, if not her, who?" Paula pried. "I'm sure a famous singer like yourself can't possibly single. You must be fighting off hordes of women, right?"

"Umm…" The rockstar said, awkwardly.

"**Mom**," Spencer again had to keep herself from screaming. "Nosy, much?"

"Oh, fine, you're no fun," Paula waved her hand to dismiss the accusation. "Then, what about you Spencer? Are you seeing anyone?"

"Uh…well…" Spencer glanced at the brunette, silently asking her whether or not to tell them yet. Seeing her uncertain, but affirmative nod, the blonde continued. "I…**am**, mom."

Paula practically blasted off her seat, successfully knocking down her chair. "You are?!" She squealed in happiness. "Oh, who? Tell me, who?!"

"That's kinda why I agreed to coming here today," Spencer cleared her throat and took in a lungful of breath before turning toward both her parents. "Mom, Dad…AshleyandIaredating." She hurried out.

"Wha-What?" Paula blinked rapidly. "Come again, dear?"

Ashley chuckled at the double-meaning before a foot crashed roughly on her own, silencing her instantly and making her cry in pain. "Ow…"

Spencer sighed at her girlfriend's antics. "I said, Ashley and I are dating," she turned to look at the brunette, smiling endearingly. "We've been together for a few weeks now."

The two young women just sat there staring at each other in adoration. Having those words spoken out in the open in front of people other than Kyla and Aiden definitely fortified their relationship. Both of them felt themselves fall in love even more with each other. They were already lost in their own world before being interrupted by Arthur's words.

"Congratulations, honey!" He turned to the other girl, "Ashley, I'm so glad it's you. I always knew."

"Thanks, Mr. C." Ashley looked down, bashfully.

Spencer, however, was taking notice of a concerning detail: her mom had not said anything. Paula was still standing in her spot, not having moved a bit. Her mouth was wide open in shock as she struggled to regain her composure.

"M-Mom?" Spencer could hear her mother's loud, ragged, breathing. "Are you okay?"

Paula didn't respond. Instead she began to pace for a few seconds, before turning away from the family with her back facing them and supporting herself with her arms against the small end table on the side.

"Paula?" Arthur asked.

"You…you two are…_dating_?" The older blonde's voice was forced and threatening.

"Uh, yeah…I, love your daughter very much Paula," Ashley piped in, terrified beyond belief but making sure to stand up for her relationship.

"You…_love_ her?"

"Yes, mom," Spencer added. "We're in love."

"In…love? Love? Wha-What?" Paula shook her head furiously, still not turning to face the family. "No, you're kidding me. My own daughter would never date _that_! It's not possible!"

"_That_?" Spencer was beginning to get angry at her mother's unresponsive comments. "What do you mean _that_?"

"You can do so much better…_So_ much better than her…"

The younger blonde visibly tensed, making Ashley instantly try to calm her down. "It's okay, Spence…Who cares what she thinks…" She whispered while running her hands up and down her girlfriend's shoulders.

"Paula, you're being irrational," Arthur finally decided to speak again. "Our daughter has decided to be with her; I'm sure they're perfect for each other."

"Perfect?" Paula's body began to tremble. She scraped her nails on the wood of the small table before grasping the nearby ashtray in her hands. "They're not perfect." She sneered.

Ashley had no idea what hit her. One second she was staring at the older blonde in fear, and the next she felt something knock into her right eye forcefully, throwing her off balance and making her fall off her chair and to the floor.

"Mom!" "Paula!" "OW!"

Spencer instantly ran to her girlfriend's side, cupping her cheeks and staring at the large red cut just above the brunette's left eye. Almost immediately, blood began to seep out, covering the side of her face.

"Ugh…" Ashley moaned. "Ow…"

"Jesus…" The younger blonde went into protective mode. She took off her jacket in a flash and bundled it over Ashley's eye, applying pressure to stop the bleeding while she moved to sit on the ground, putting the brunette's head in her lap. "Ash…Baby, speak to me…"

The injured girl slowly opened her right eye, seeing a blurry image of her girlfriend before looking elsewhere, being met directly by a fuming Paula Carlin, who was making her way towards her.

"Paula, that's enough!" Arthur snapped out of his trance and took a hold of his wife's shoulders, keeping her back. "What's with you?"

"It's her! I'm gonna kill her!" Paula struggled against the man's strong grip. "Let me go, Arthur! She's not good enough for my only daughter!"

"Mom!" Spencer cried out. "Stop it! I love her!"

"No you don't Spencer," she spoke in eerie calmness. "She's scum…She's not for you…Not her…"

Seeing her daughter cry, Arthur pushed Paula back even harder. "Spencer, leave. I'll handle your mother," he looked back at her with an apologetic expression. "Go take care of Ashley."

The young blonde glanced at her father. "Yeah…" She struggled to her knees while cradling the brunette's head. "Come on Ash, let's go."

The supported her weight against her girlfriend's body, who was practically dragging her out the door. As she looked back at the two adults, she was terrified by what she saw Paula mouth to her:

'I know.'


End file.
